Alon A2 N5486E accident near Compton, California

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated immediately after the accident that during the landing flare, after he had reduced the power, the airplane ballooned with increasing oscillations and veered left off the runway. He applied left rudder to avoid another taxiing airplane and impacted a row of hangars. In a subsequent written statement, the pilot indicated that his right foot got caught between the rudder pedal and the control column cover during landing. In the process of freeing his foot, the airplane pitched up and down and veered off the runway; he “jammed” the left rudder to avoid a taxiing airplane, and the right wing of his airplane impacted a row of hangars. There were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12CA330 for the full record.