North American SNJ-4 N694US

Summary

On 16 November 2019 at about 21:30 local time, a North American SNJ-4 registered N694US, operated by Wasatch Flyers LLC, was involved in an accident near Heber City, Utah, 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

16 November 2019 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Heber City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Heber Valley (HCR)

Coordinates

40.4789, -111.4339

Aircraft

North American SNJ-4

Registration

N694US

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Wasatch Flyers LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Heber City → Heber City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA025

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of directional control during landing as a result of the separated tailwheel-to-rudder link rod

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after an uneventful three-point landing in the tailwheel equipped airplane with an 8-knot crosswind, the airplane veered to the left. Despite the pilot's control inputs, the airplane exited the left side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the tailwheel-to-rudder link rod was separated from the rudder control horn. The associated attachment hardware, which included a bolt, castellated nut, and cotter pin were not located. Elongation and inward bending were observed on the upper and lower bearing shields, which most likely was a result of the bolt separating from the assembly. It could not be determined if the link rod bolt had a cotter pin installed prior to the accident. Although separation of the tailwheel-to-rudder link rod would disable tailwheel steering, which could reduce ability to maintain directional control during landing, the effect can be counteracted by other control inputs and differential braking.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.