ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 167737
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 July 2014 |
| Time: | 08:20 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N3512M |
| MSN: | 12-2664 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1947 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3248 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-A2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Merrill Field Airport (PAMR), Anchorage, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Anchorage, AK (MRI) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The accident flight was the airplane’s first flight after undergoing maintenance and modification over the course of several years. A witness reported that, during the takeoff, the airplane climbed steeply in an extreme, nose-high attitude until it “pivoted” at the apex of the climb and then entered a descent straight to the ground. The airplane’s described motions are consistent with the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an aerodynamic stall; crush damage to the nose of the airplane and the leading edges of the wings was consistent with a nearly vertical flight path at the time of impact. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane’s elevator control cables were misrigged, such that they were attached to the incorrect (opposite) locations on the upper and lower elevator control horn, resulting in a reversal of elevator control inputs. Maintenance logs for the airplane contained no entries more recent than 2007. Several people reported that the pilot often performed maintenance on the airplane; however, none indicated knowledge of who performed maintenance on the elevator controls. A “BEFORE TAKEOFF” checklist for the airplane included the item, “CONTROLS – FREE AND CORRECT.” If the pilot had checked the elevator for correct motion before takeoff, he likely would have discovered that it was misrigged.
Probable Cause: The incorrect (reverse) rigging of the elevator control cables, and the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which failed to detect the misrigging.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3512M
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jul-2014 17:01 | Geno | Added |
| 02-Jul-2014 19:29 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 03-Jul-2014 02:31 | Geno | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Jul-2014 05:37 | Geno | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Aug-2014 20:31 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 30-Nov-2017 18:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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