Cessna 402 pilot reported diverting due to the loss of rudder control during cruise.

Attributes
ACN	1497233
Time
Date	201711
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 402/402C/B379 Businessliner/Utiliner
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Rudder Control System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

While in cruise from ZZZ; after exiting ZZZ airspace; the right rudder pedal went to the floor/full forward. I did not have any right rudder authority; but the aircraft remained in straight and level flight with this configuration. I then told approach of my mechanical issue and request to divert to ZZZ1 as it was the closest suitable airport. I then informed operations of my intentions to divert to ZZZ1 and that I had a mechanical issue with the rudder. The tower in ZZZ1 was informed of the issue and had emergency vehicles waiting for when I landed. I landed with no incident but was unable to taxi off the runway. The passengers were taken off the aircraft and brought to the terminal by a van and I was towed back to the [ramp] by maintenance.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna 402 pilot reported diverting due to the loss of rudder control during cruise.

Narrative: While in cruise from ZZZ; after exiting ZZZ airspace; the right rudder pedal went to the floor/full forward. I did not have any right rudder authority; but the aircraft remained in straight and level flight with this configuration. I then told Approach of my mechanical issue and request to divert to ZZZ1 as it was the closest suitable airport. I then informed Operations of my intentions to divert to ZZZ1 and that I had a mechanical issue with the rudder. The tower in ZZZ1 was informed of the issue and had emergency vehicles waiting for when I landed. I landed with no incident but was unable to taxi off the runway. The passengers were taken off the aircraft and brought to the terminal by a van and I was towed back to the [ramp] by Maintenance.

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.