N2609WMooney M20E · 1965

On July 19, 2012, about 1109 mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20E, N2609W, was substantially damaged during a runway excursion while landing on runway 28 at the Centennial Airport (APA), Englewood, Colorado. The pilot and sole passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The flight originated from Pioneer Village Field Airport, Minden, Nebraska, about 0815.

The pilot reported that the airplane started to veer to the left while landing. His attempts to use right rudder/steering input and asymmetric braking to maintain control were unsuccessful. The airplane subsequently departed the runway pavement and encountered a ditch before coming to rest. He noted that the ground adjacent to the runway was muddy, which caused the airplane to yaw and increased the departure angle from the runway. In his written statement, the pilot noted there might have been a brake malfunction that precipitated the event.

An airport operations representative stated that the airplane departed the south side of runway 28 about 1,000 feet from the arrival end. It came to rest about 100 yards off the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed during the accident sequence. He noted that the wind was light and the pavement was dry at the time of the accident.

A postaccident examination revealed that the right wing spar was deformed in the area of the landing gear side brace attachment bracket, which would require a repair. Examination of the nosewheel steering and main landing gear brakes did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a loss of directional control.

At 1053, the recorded wind at APA was variable at 3 knots. At 1153, the recorded wind was from 140 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 16 knots.