Searey elite pilot reported a failure of a rudder linkage component. Pilot elected to land at the ne...

Narrative:

After climbing out of a private airstrip I discovered that I had loss of rudder authority due to a (rudder) linkage part failure. After initial assessment and review of aircraft systems and airworthiness; I decided to contact tower. They offered their runway for landing however I was in the vicinity of a private 5000 foot grass runway; which I considered more suitable to a successful conclusion of the flight. After circling the field several times; burning fuel and awaiting arrival of emergency personnel; made a straight in approach to the north. Touched down without incident; rolled out to approximately 20 mph when the aircraft nose yawed right (tail wheel was down at this point); resulting in a hard left turn of the aircraft; main wheels skidding in a tight ground loop turn. There was no contact made with the ground by the right float or wing tip. The aircraft came to a stop heading 180 degrees opposite direction of landing. Emergency crews arrived; assessed that there were no injuries; no observable damage to the aircraft or possibility of fire. I gave them my information; signed their form and the emergency crews departed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SeaRey Elite pilot reported a failure of a rudder linkage component. Pilot elected to land at the nearest suitable field. The landing was normal until at low speed when steering was lost.

Narrative: After climbing out of a private airstrip I discovered that I had loss of rudder authority due to a (rudder) linkage part failure. After initial assessment and review of aircraft systems and airworthiness; I decided to contact Tower. They offered their runway for landing however I was in the vicinity of a private 5000 foot grass runway; which I considered more suitable to a successful conclusion of the flight. After circling the field several times; burning fuel and awaiting arrival of emergency personnel; made a straight in approach to the north. Touched down without incident; rolled out to approximately 20 mph when the aircraft nose yawed right (tail wheel was down at this point); resulting in a hard left turn of the aircraft; main wheels skidding in a tight ground loop turn. There was no contact made with the ground by the right float or wing tip. The aircraft came to a stop heading 180 degrees opposite direction of landing. Emergency crews arrived; assessed that there were no injuries; no observable damage to the aircraft or possibility of fire. I gave them my information; signed their form and the emergency crews departed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1480164
Time
Date	201709
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Seaplane or Amphibian
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Rudder Control System
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 70 Flight Crew Total 550 Flight Crew Type 110
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Searey elite pilot reported a failure of a rudder linkage component. Pilot elected to land at the nearest suitable field. The landing was normal until at low speed when steering was lost.