N43443Taylorcraft BC12-D

On June 10, 2018, about 1200 mountain daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC-12D airplane, N43443, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing on runway 28 when he felt an “unusual mechanical sensation” just before rotation. He departed again and remained in the airport traffic pattern for runway 28. Upon turning from base to final, the pilot saw two white and two red lights on the precision approach path indicator and also noticed the windsock indicating erratic wind directions, varying between a headwind and crosswind. As the airplane neared the runway, he then felt it “aggressively weathercock” to the left from a crosswind gust, and he applied control inputs to realign the airplane. The pilot decided it was too late to perform a go-around and chose to continue the landing. The tailwheel contacted the runway first, followed by the main gear. The pilot pulled the throttle back completely to idle, but the rudder inputs seemed only “partially responsive,” and the airplane continued to veer off the runway toward the left. He applied full rudder and heel-brakes to prevent a ground loop; however, the airplane continued to veer left, then exited the runway and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and rudder. The recorded wind about the time of the accident was from 160° at 6 knots with gusts to 13 knots.

Following the accident, the pilot performed a visual inspection of the airplane and noted that the left rudder spring had disconnected from the tailwheel control arm and the safety wire was missing. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane and saw that the left rudder spring had been reattached. The pilot reported that, after the accident, he and a mechanic had reattached the spring. After looking at the assembly, the FAA inspector was unable to determine whether the spring detached during or prior to the accident.