Beechcraft 35 N435RB

Summary

On 22 September 2018 at about 19:15 local time, a Beechcraft 35 registered N435RB was involved in an accident near Georgetown, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 September 2018 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Georgetown, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Georgetown Co. (GGE)

Coordinates

33.3114, -79.3203

Aircraft

Beechcraft 35

Registration

N435RB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Georgetown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA258

2 people had minor injuries.

A loss of directional control during landing due to overstress failure of the left seat’s left rudder pedal arm clevis, which occurred as a result of manufacturing defects.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While approaching the airport for landing during an instructional flight, the airplane entered an uncommanded yaw and roll to the right and began to pitch up. The flight instructor was able to maintain some control of the airplane by applying left rudder, left aileron, and forward elevator pressure, and trimming the airplane nose-down. The instructor noticed that the airplane’s right yaw increased as the airplane's speed decreased, and it became "impossible" to maintain alignment with the runway centerline. Upon touching down on the runway, the airplane immediately veered to the right about 90° and collided with trees, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall, fuselage, and both wings. Examination of the flight control system revealed that the left seat’s left rudder pedal arm clevis was fractured in multiple sections. Metallurgical examination identified cracks and voids created during the casting (manufacturing) process. The presence of these voids, cracks, and oxide layers reduced the cross-sectional area that could withstand the force applied over the pedal arm clevises. Once a high enough load input was applied to the pedal arm, the remaining material fractured in overstress. The separation of the pedal arm from the pushrod subsequently resulted in a failure of the rudder control system. Review of the airframe logbooks revealed that the rudder pedal arm was original to the airplane and had accrued a total of 6,203.62 flight hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.