On March 4, 2001, about 1115 central standard time, a Bellanca BL-17-30A, N8844V, registered to a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, sustained a runway excursion on landing at Merkel Field Sylacauga Municipal Airport, Sylacauga, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot and a passenger were not injured, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Mobile, Alabama, about 0915. According to the pilot, his landing touchdown on the main gear was smooth, and when he lowered the nosewheel onto the runway, the aircraft took a violent swerve to the left, and departed the left runway edge. Once in the wet grass, he started sliding and his rudder pedals had no effect on steering. The aircraft collided with a stand of pine trees, and sustained a collapsed nose landing gear and wing collision damage. The pilot stated that, "I suspect that a steering collar or steering rod failed, but I was unable to check due to the collapsed nose gear." According to an FAA inspector, runway tire marks revealed that the aircraft landed on runway 27 and ran off the runway surface's left edge at a 45-degree angle. He stated, "There were three skid marks on the runway from each of the landing gear tires for almost 100 feet. With all three landing gear skid marks, the pilot was applying heavy braking. The nose tire skid marks indicate that the nose of the aircraft was being forced into the ground." The aircraft continued through adjacent grass until colliding with trees located about 50 feet from the left runway edge. According to an aircraft inspector on the field, he examined the wreckage for possible precrash mechanical malfunctions of the braking and steering systems. He stated the type of damage he observed to the steering collar and steering rods could only have occurred postcrash. Examination of the nose tire streak on the runway indicated that the aircraft was being subjected to some amount of nose down pitch forces.