Ohio State University Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Columbus, Ohio 43209
Friday, July 1, 2005 23:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the private pilot, she had begun flying 3 weeks earlier after a 5-year layoff. She took off, with a flight instructor in the right seat, on a cross country flight that landed uneventfully at the outbound destination. She did not note any mechanical anomalies during the landing or taxi. The return leg, at night, was also uneventful; however, when turning onto the downwind leg, the private pilot advised the flight instructor that he needed to land the airplane because she wasn't sure of the "perspective." The flight instructor took over, and the private pilot kept her hands and feet off the controls while observing the nighttime runway environment. The flight instructor turned onto the base leg, then onto the final leg. The airplane appeared to be lined up with the center of the runway, and the private pilot turned on the landing light. The airplane landed on both main landing gear, with the flight instructor "holding the nose wheel off." The private pilot could not see out the front window, but it appeared that the airplane was veering to the right. She then heard the flight instructor say "oh shoot" and "something about the rudder." The airplane then "hit something" and bounced, but veered back to the left and stopped in the center of the runway. According to the flight instructor, during the return cross country leg, he noticed a few times that the airplane was deviating left of the intended heading. At some point, the private pilot stated that she couldn't trim the airplane. The flight instructor tried to trim it, and with the maximum right trim set, he still had to hold right rudder to maintain heading. The flight instructor maintained a right rudder input for the rest of the flight. At the destination airport, the weather was "clear with light to nil wind." On final approach, the flight instructor set the power between 1,700 and 1,800 rpm, and the airplane was stabilized at 70 knots and aligned with the center of the runway, both visually, and with the glide slope and localizer. The flight instructor held right rudder input, and adjusted the airplane's heading by easing off right rudder or holding it as required to keep the airplane aligned with the center of the runway. The flight instructor thought about using flaps, but decided not to because he wasn't sure if it might exaggerate the left-turning tendency. Approaching the runway, the flight instructor noted that the airplane was turning to the right, so he eased off some right rudder. At some point, he "totally removed right rudder pressure and started "the transition approach to land," but "for whatever reason, the aircraft turned to the right suddenly and unexpected." To keep the airplane over the runway, the flight instructor turned the controls to the left, and applied full left rudder, but did not notice any immediate response. He advised the private pilot and the passenger of what he was doing, and said, "the rudder is not responding" while initiating a go-around. The flight instructor then heard a "bang" as if the airplane had struck something, and the impact "forced the airplane more over and closer to the center if the runway." The flight instructor aborted the go-around, and landed. After landing, and while taxiing to the ramp, the flight instructor pressed the right and left rudder pedals several times, and noted that the right rudder pedal was much stiffer than the left. Photographs of the scene revealed three wheel tracks to the right of the runway, consistent with the width of the airplane's landing gear. The tracks veered off the runway, with the right main landing gear track passing next to the remnants of a 3,000-foot remaining sign. The tracks then gradually veered back toward the left, and on to a taxiway, toward the runway. The airplane was subsequently examined for proper rigging, with no significant anomalies noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight instructor's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout. A factor was the night lighting conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/2005
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2330
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Columbus
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43209
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400447N
Event Location Longitude 0830423W
Event Location Airport Ohio State University
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OSU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 905
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2353 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID OSU
Elevation of weather observation facility 905
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19358
NTSB Notification Source CMH-FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2006 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbus

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2842D
NTSB Number IAD05LA093
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7990488
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5293
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Four Two Delta, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Powell
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43065
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name National Flyer's Association
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Columbus
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code D98
Departure City Romeo
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2145
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code OSU
Destination City Columbus
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 11 2006 2:32PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09L
Runway Length 2994
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --