Piper PA-22-135 N3372A

Summary

On 3 December 2021 at about 18:10 local time, a Piper PA-22-135 registered N3372A was involved in an accident near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 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

3 December 2021 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Tahlequah Muni (TQH)

Coordinates

35.9303, -95.0045

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-135

Registration

N3372A

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

Carrollton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22LA066

Nobody was injured.

A loss of yaw control while on final approach, which resulted in the pilot performing an off-runway landing, and a subsequent nose over. The reason for the loss of yaw control could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported the airplane had recently been purchased by the passenger and they were transporting it to their home location via a cross-country flight. During a planned rest stop, the pilot maneuvered the airplane in the traffic pattern to land. As the pilot turned onto short final, he was attempting to align the airplane with the runway, and he noticed the yaw of the airplane was to the left and “hard.” The pilot made sure the right seat passenger did not have his feet resting on the rudder pedals. The pilot noticed the left rudder pedal was all the way forward against the firewall and he was unable to free it by manipulating the rudder pedals back and forth. The pilot then decided to land parallel to the runway, in dry, tall grass. During the landing, the airplane impacted several saplings, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot and passenger were able to egress without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing lift struts, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. A post-accident examination of the airframe established flight control continuity and no signs of foreign object debris were found lodged in or around the rudder pedals. Pre-accident flight control rigging settings could be not determined due to the airframe damage sustained.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.