CHI02LA028 · Bellanca 17-30A

The airplane impacted the ground following an aborted landing after a loss of directional control during landing. The pilot reported that the airplane lost engine power during the aborted landing attempt. The pilot reported, "On the take-off roll, just before rotation, the aircraft began to veer to the left." The pilot said that he rotated and retracted the landing gear normally. The pilot stated that he had electrical problems during the flight and when he reached his destination he was unable to establish communications. He said he confirmed that the landing gear was down by calling his father on his cellular telephone. The pilot said that during the landing, when the nose wheel contacted the runway, the airplane again veered to the left. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and the pilot aborted the landing. The airplane struck the visual approach slope indicator during the aborted landing. The airplane climbed to about 60 feet AGL when the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to land on a road and the left wing struck the ground. After the accident, fuel was observed running from beneath the airplane. According to fueling records, the airplane was filled with fuel prior to departure. The flow of fuel was "stemmed" by moving the fuel selector from the right position to the off position. After the airplane was moved to a hangar, the inboard fuel cells were accessed and no fuel was found in the inboard right fuel cell. The outboard fuel cells were broken loose from the aircraft structure. The engine was broken loose from its mount and the propeller was separated from the engine. The forward fuselage was crushed rearward. Examination of the engine revealed compression on all cylinders and spark from the impulse coupled magneto was confirmed. No fuel was found in the fuel distribution valve, or fuel injector lines. The alternator drive belt was broken. The alternator could not be turned by hand. The alternator was removed and examined. The alternator case halves were misaligned and the case exhibited evidence of impact damage. The alternator case bolts were loosened and the alternator shaft rotated freely when misalignment pressures were relieved. The nose wheel steering system consists of two rods attached to the top of a T-bar supported by two bearings mounted on the strut tube. The T-bar is mounted on the forward side of the upper strut tube. The lower end of the T-bar attaches to the steering collar on the nose wheel strut with a link. The link is on the left side of the centerline of the nose wheel strut. The link was fractured and the fracture surfaces exhibited signatures consistent with tension overload failure. No other anomalies were found with respect to the airframe, engine, or systems, that could be identified as existing prior to impact. A witness reported that the airplane was not developing full power during the aborted landing.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset