Piper PA-28-140 N5808U

Summary

On 4 June 2013 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N5808U, operated by Morrissey William T Trustee, was involved in an accident near Burlington, Washington, United States. One person was 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

4 June 2013 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Skagit Regional Airport (BVS)

Coordinates

48.4747, -122.4247

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N5808U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1970

Engines

1

Operator

Morrissey William T Trustee

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Friday Harbor → Burlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA262

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the rudder bar assembly during landing due to a fatigue crack. Contributing to the accident was the failure of maintenance personnel to perform an adequate inspection of the rudder bar assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the landing roll, the airplane began to veer right, and the pilot applied left rudder and left braking action to align the airplane with the runway; however, both actions were ineffective. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and impacted an airport sign and a ditch. Postaccident examination of the left rudder bar assembly found that it had failed due to a fatigue crack. A rusted brown oxidized area near the center of the crack and surface features consistent with slow-growth fatigue indicated that the crack had been growing incrementally over a period of years. A review of the manufacturer's periodic inspection checklist, maintenance manual, and Service Letter No. 671 indicated that the rudder bar assembly should be inspected every 100 hours specifically for cracks in the area where the airplane's rudder bar failed. If maintenance personnel had inspected the airplane in accordance with these documents, the crack likely would have been found and the accident prevented.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.