Piper PA-22-160 N3463Z accident near West Union, Ohio

Probable cause

A malfunction of the flight controls for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.

NTSB analysis

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.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA038 for the full record.