Cessna 195 N2100C

Summary

On 10 August 2017 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 195 registered N2100C was involved in an accident near Newman, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 August 2017 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Newman, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Newnan Coweta County (CCO)

Coordinates

33.3117, -84.7697

Aircraft

Cessna 195

Registration

N2100C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1953

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newman → Newman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA324

Nobody was injured.

The improper rigging of the tailwheel assembly, which resulted in a loss of directional control during takeoff. Contributing to accident was the pilot’s decision to operate the airplane despite knowing it required excessive right rudder inputs for it to move straight ahead.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to airline transport pilot, during the takeoff roll, the airplane veered left. The pilot tried to correct the turn without success, and the airplane subsequently departed the left side of the runway, struck a taxiway light, and then came to rest in grass adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. The pilot reported that he had owned the airplane for about 1 month, during which time he observed that he had to continuously apply right rudder for the airplane to taxi straight ahead, which he thought was normal for that airplane. Examination of the tailwheel assembly revealed that, when the rudder pedals were centered, the rudder was also centered. However, the tailwheel remained in a left-turn position and required about 75% right rudder input to center the tailwheel, and with full-right rudder deflection, the tailwheel turned very little to the right. A review of the maintenance records revealed that maintenance, including the installation of a new upper mount assembly and a new tailwheel strut, was performed on the tailwheel assembly about 3 years before the accident. Given the pilot's report that he had always needed to apply right rudder for the airplane to taxi straight ahead, it is likely that the tailwheel assembly was improperly rigged following the previous maintenance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.