N98PW

On July 26, 2019, about 1330 central daylight time, a Waas Stoddard-Hamilton GlaStar, N98PW was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway while landing at Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE), Mitchell, South Dakota. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-country flight. The flight originated from Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 0800, then Rochester (RST), Minnesota, about 1100, and was en route to MHE.

According to the pilot's accident report, he departed OSH, he was en route to St. James (JYG), Minnesota, but elected to divert to RST, due to the high headwinds west of Oshkosh. The pilot had no trouble in landing at RST. After refueling and checking the weather, the pilot took off en route to MHE, his next refueling stop.

About 30 miles east of MHE, the pilot monitored its Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) broadcast, which was reporting calm winds. As he got closer to MHE, ASOS reported variable winds. He decided to land on runway 18. Immediately upon touch down, the airplane veered hard to the right. The pilot applied left rudder but was unable to turn the airplane back towards the runway. He applied full throttle in an attempt to go around. The airplane continued through the grass and struck a berm.

The pilot reported the right landing gear had collapsed and was bent under the cowling and fuselage. The right wing was buckled, and the fibreglass fuselage was cracked and torn open. The chrome moly steel cage was broken in two places, and three tubes were bent. The left wing tip and horizontal stabilizer was also damaged by impact.

Federal Aviation Administration inspector assigned to the case requested that an airport mechanic examine right brake. The mechanic reported that the brake functioned normally, and that the right tire showed no evidence of a flat spot or skid marks on the tire tread.

The pilot said he did not believe the right wheel had "locked up," but rather that the right brake had become stuck and would not release. The pilot had attended the EAA AirVenture 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the airplane had been parked in wet grass for several days.