N28332

On August 1, 2006, at 1630 Pacific daylight time, an Interstate S-1A airplane, N28332, was substantially damaged when its nose landing gear collapsed during a forced landing in a field near Buckeye, Arizona. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was uninjured. The airplane was registered to a private individual, and was operated by the pilot under the provision of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The local flight departed the Buckeye Airport about 5 minutes prior to the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed. The accident site was located about 33 degrees 26 minutes north latitude and 112 degrees 41 minutes west longitude.

According to a written statement provided to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane was about 150 to 200 feet above the ground when the control stick disconnected and the pilot lost elevator control. The nose of the airplane began to drop so he trimmed the airplane to maintain flight. He set up for a forced landing straight ahead between cement borders. The airplane touched down normally, but was nearing a cement ditch. The pilot applied full power and the airplane skipped over the ditch. The airplane then touched down in an alfalfa field and rolled out normally until the nose landing gear collapsed after encountering the field's border.

The 1941 model airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that the pin that secured the control stick onto the elevator control rods came out. Review of the maintenance records revealed the airplane underwent its last annual inspection on August 2, 2005, at a total airframe time of 3,924.5 hours. A maintenance endorsement affiliated with that annual inspection revealed that airframe and flight controls were lubricated. At the time of the accident, the airplane accumulated 3,959 hours of operation.