N694US

On November 16, 2019, about 1430 mountain standard time, a North American SNJ-4, N694US, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Heber Valley Airport (HCR), Heber City, Utah. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that prior to entering the airport traffic pattern, he listened to the airport’s automated weather observing system, noting the wind was from 340° at 9 knots, which equates to an 8-knot crosswind component. The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern for runway 4 and conducted an uneventful three-point landing in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. About 500 to 700 ft. after touchdown, the airplane veered to the left and despite the pilot's control inputs, exited the left side of the runway. Subsequently, the right main landing gear separated, and the airplane came to rest upright.

Examination of the airplane by the pilot revealed that the right wing was structurally damaged. The tailwheel-to-rudder link rod, which provides tailwheel steering, was found separated from the rudder control horn, as seen in figure 1. The associated attachment hardware, which included a bolt, castellated nut, and cotter pin, were not located.

Figure 1: Excerpt from a video provided by the pilot, showing the tailwheel to rudder link rod and damage.

The rudder control horn side ball bearing was damaged, and upper and lower bearing housing shields were elongated and exhibited an inward bend along a portion of both shields, about 180° opposite of one another. The inner race was intact. The bearing balls were mostly separated from the bearing assembly.

The airplane was equipped with a steerable tailwheel that could be locked into place. With the tailwheel locked, steering to the left and right is limited to 15°. A tailwheel-to-rudder link rod attached the rudder control horn to the tailwheel control horn and each connection point incorporated installation of one AN4-12 bolt, two AN960-C416L washers, one AN310-4 nut, and one AN380-2-2 cotter pin.