ERA26LA089

On December 19, 2025, about 0918 EST, an Alon A-2A, N818SW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Winter Haven Regional Airport (GIF), Winter Haven, Florida. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14?Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that he experienced no issues with the rudder control system while taxiing prior to departure. After takeoff the flight proceeded uneventfully to GIF with no rudder flight control issues in-flight. The airplane was landed smoothly in the first 200 ft of the runway and during the landing roll he applied right rudder to maintain runway centerline and slightly overcorrected, causing him to apply left rudder input. He heard a “pop” sound, and after that point the left rudder acted like, “it was loose and went all the way in.” The airplane began veering to the left which he could not correct with right rudder. At that point he pulled the mixture control, and turned the magneto switch and electrical systems off. The airplane went off the runway onto grass, impacted a sign with the tie down ring of the left wing damaging the left-wing main spar, then came to rest on a taxiway.