Beech A23-24 N3661Q accident near Middlefield, Ohio

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain directional control during landing.

NTSB analysis

During an instructional flight, the flight instructor was demonstrating a landing. Upon touchdown, the flight instructor noticed that the airplane was right of centerline. He applied left rudder to realign the airplane with the centerline but overcorrected. The airplane veered sharply left, then he tried to correct with right rudder and the airplane veered sharply to the right. The airplane exited the runway surface and went through a ditch. The nose landing gear separated before the airplane slid through the grass and struck the concrete base of a tetrahedron. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and wings. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA279 for the full record.