PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 5.4; Flight Crew Total 353.8; Flight Crew Type 56.2
Situational Awareness
Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Excursion Runway
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control
Human Factors
I was flying a normal pattern and approach to land on runway 19 at my home airport. When I called in; ATIS reported the wind as 180@13 knots although closer in time to the incident it was reported as 210@10 knots. The approach to landing and the flare seemed normal to me and I did not note any significant crosswind effects. On the landing rollout and while I was applying the brakes for an intended exit to a left taxiway the plane swerved to the right. I remember holding in left rudder and braking on both pedals but the plane continued to swerve right. The plane went off the right side of the runway and the left side wing flap hit a taxiway sign that was in the grass adjacent to the runway. The plane came to a stop in the grass a short distance later. There was a right side tire mark on the runway so it looks like the right wheel brakes were locked up or at least doing most of the braking which accounts for the swerve to the right. It swerved so fast that I cannot recall if the left side brake felt weak or not at the time. In hindsight it was pointed out; because I was holding in left rudder at the time; that brake pedal would have been further away and perhaps that would account for a weaker braking feeling on that side anyway. The taxiway sign was substantially damaged. From what I could see on the plane there was a scrape mark under the left wing and damage to the flap. The plane was towed to a hangar. I will be following up with the FBO on the repairs of course and would certainly like to know if they find any abnormality in the left or right side braking systems or if this was purely caused by pilot error. That is; unequal brake pressure that was worsened when I applied left rudder correction. The plane was lightly loaded at the time. In the future I will let the plane get slower on its own and thus have more nose wheel stability before applying the brakes. Also when I adjust my seat position I may put it up one notch closer to the pedals so I am sure to have enough brake pedal leverage when the rudder pedals are not in the neutral position.
The pilot of a Piper PA-28 lost control of the aircraft during landing rollout; resulting in a runway excursion and contact with a taxiway sign.