Amateur-built TAILWIND N456TW accident near Penrose, Colorado

Probable cause

The failure of the right rudder pedal stop due to an inadequate weld, which resulted in a loss of control on the ground.

NTSB analysis

The pilot, who was in the right seat, stated the left-seat pilot had just completed three uneventful full-stop landings, and then he took over the controls and was flying from the right seat. During the takeoff roll, he applied equal pressure to both rudder pedals. Suddenly, the right pedal broke forward, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The left-seat pilot was unable to assist in controlling the airplane before it struck a berm. The airplane came to rest upright with the main landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the right side of the fuselage and engine mounts.

Postaccident examination revealed that the right seat’s right rudder pedal stop, a U-shaped metal rod welded to the rudder pedal torque tube, broke at the weld, and the right pedal was beyond the normal forward limit. The weld appeared to have inadequate penetration into the base material, which resulted in a failure of the weld that allowed the rudder pedal to extend beyond the normal forward limit.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN23LA211 for the full record.