CEN26LA333

On September 26, 2026, about 1430 central daylight time, a Fairchild 24H, N16902, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Indianapolis, Indiana. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. During the landing rollout shortly after the tailwheel settled to the ground, the pilot reported that the airplane drifted to the right. The pilot pushed the left rudder pedal and the left pedal felt stuck. The airplane departed the right side of the runway into the grass. It continued to the right hit a ditch and hill which resulted in the main landing gear collapse and substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a bent piece of metal, possibly a bellcrank travel stop, on the airplane’s structure was making contact with the rudder bellcrank near the rudder pedals. Wear marks were present in the bellcrank that indicated the issue had been occurring for some time. The movement and contact between the two parts made a clicking noise and repeated movement of the rudder pedals resulted in the rudder bellcrank sticking during movement. Sometimes it would become lodged and require force to release the pedal. The airplane was retained for further examination.