Primary finding
Probable cause
A malfunction of the flight controls for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot reported that he was conducting a solo cross-country flight when the airplane began to roll left unless he continuously held right aileron input. The pilot elected to divert, and during the landing flare, the airplane continued the left roll and touched down hard past the 1,000-ft runway markers. The airplane bounced and touched down a second time before departing the left side of the runway, where it impacted a ditch and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and engine mount. A postaccident examination did not reveal any flight control anomalies that would have caused the left rolling tendency, and the reason for the malfunction could not be determined based on the available information.
Source record
Factual narrative
On November 15, 2021, about 1730 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-22-160, N3463Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near West Union, Ohio. The student pilot was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight. The student pilot reported that he was completing a solo cross-country flight when the accident occurred. After descending from 5,500 ft to 2,500 ft, the airplane began to roll left unless the pilot continuously held right aileron input. The use of rudder did not null the left roll tendency. Due to the left roll and lower cloud bases ahead, he elected to divert. After an initial attempt to land on runway 5, he entered left traffic for runway 23. During the landing flare, the airplane continued the left roll and touched down hard past the 1,000 ft runway markers. The airplane bounced and touched down a second time before departing the left side of the runway, where it impacted a ditch and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and engine mount. During a postaccident examination, control cable continuity and routing were verified from the rudder pedals to the rudder, and full rudder travel was observed. The aileron system was inspected, and control cable continuity and routing were verified from the control column to each aileron. Full travel of each aileron was observed. The aileron/rudder interconnect was also verified and found to be operational with no restrictions. The aileron control yoke was found to be misrigged so that when the ailerons were even with the wingtips, the yoke was approximately 200 offset to the left, and when the yoke was placed in a neutral position, the aileron positions corresponded to a right turn.