NTSB Factual Report

On February 28, 2004, at 1540 Eastern Standard Time, a Swearingen SA-226T, N70FC, registered to William D. Fisher Enterprises LLC., operating as a 14 CFRT Part 91 personal flight, veered off the right side of the runway during landing rollout at Collegedale, Tennessee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Butler, Ohio, on February 28, 2004, at 1400.

The pilot stated he landed on runway 03 and began slowing the airplane down about 200 feet from the end of the runway. He applied brakes and started using the nose wheel tiller for steering. The airplane veered to the right and "he lost directional control of the airplane." The airplane went 50 to 75 feet off the side of the runway and collided with a ditch and the nose wheel collapsed.

Examination of runway 03 revealed skids marks were present on the runway 800 feet from the end of the runway. The marks continued for 135 feet until the airplane exited the right side of the runway. The airplane continued forward 95 feet collided with a one-foot deep ditch.

Examination of the airplane revealed the nose section was buckled upward from the radome aft to the forward pressure vessel. The nose landing gear drag braces separated from the nose keelsons and folded aft beneath the fuselage, and the strut punctured the pressure vessel. The left and right propeller domes separated from the hubs, and the pitch change links were broken. The propeller blades on the left and right engine were curled aft. The left and right starter generators separated from their mounting pads and were laying in the bottom of the engine cowling The left and right fuel control units and high pressure pumps were loose on their mounting brackets. The right engine support was buckled and the engine was displaced outboard.

Examination of the flight control system, brakes, and reverse thrust revealed no anomalies.

Examination of the nose wheel steering revealed the connectors were broken off the nose wheel steering actuator. Examination of the nose wheel steering box revealed the carbon pile for the steer right command was loose in its mounting and would move when pressure was applied to the tiller wheel. Further examination revealed the steering clutches were not grounded, and the grounding stud for the clutches were loose. The nut was screwed on the screw about 3 turns. Pressure was applied to wire number 717-16N and a ground was obtained. When the pressure was released, no ground was obtained. The left side console wiring was required to be inspected during the last Letter Check B Inspection on December 17, 2002. No work sheets for the inspection were located. Review of the logbooks revealed no maintenance had been performed in this area.

Review of the aircraft logbooks revealed the last ABCD inspection was conducted by Crown Air Repair located in San Diego, California, at Hobbs time 9583.9. The Hobbs meter was changed at Hobbs time 9446.7. The Hobbs meter at the crash site was 166.3. The total time on the airframe at the time of the accident 9613.0. The total time flown since the last ABCD inspection is 29.1 hours.

The inspection Procedures Manual, Section 1, page 3 states, "If an aircraft has been stored or is operated less than 200 flight hours within a 12 calendar month period, all four letter checks must be accomplished by the end of the 12th calendar month since the last completed letter check inspection was accomplished in accordance with FAR 91, Paragraph 91.409."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inability to maintain directional control due to the inadequate grounding of the nose wheel steering clutches, as a result of inadequate maintenance inspection by other maintenance personnel to ensure the nose wheel steering clutches were grounded. A related factor was the ditch.