ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 194991
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| Date: | Sunday 23 April 2017 |
| Time: | 09:12 |
| Type: |  Nieuport 28 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N6190 |
| MSN: | AA102 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 348 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | E of Paso Robles, Whitley Gardens, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Whitley Garden, CA (95CA) |
| Whitley Garden, CA (95CA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airline transport pilot of the experimental amateur-built World War I fighter replica departed from a private airstrip for a local flight. The airplane climbed, turned left, and entered the downwind leg for the runway. Shortly thereafter the airplane descended in a steep nose down attitude until it impacted terrain. Signatures observed at the accident site and the damage to the airplane were consistent with a near vertical impact attitude into terrain.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that an elevator flight control cable rod end had separated from its turnbuckle connection, which resulted in the pilot losing pitch control of the airplane. No safety wire was found at the connection of the turnbuckle and the separated cable rod end, even though it should have been safety wired according to proper maintenance procedure. A review of the airplane's maintenance logbook revealed no maintenance documented for work performed on the elevator or elevator cables. It could not be determined when or by whom the elevator turnbuckle was connected without being properly safety wired. It is likely that the unsecured connection gradually loosened over time until it finally disconnected during the accident flight.
According to the airplane's mechanic, the flight control cables and turnbuckle assemblies that were contained in the interior of the airplane's fuselage (including the section of elevator cable found disconnected) were not accessible during routine inspections. The mechanic further stated this portion of the flight control cable and turnbuckle assemblies would even be difficult to inspect with the fuselage's fabric covering removed, due to the plywood paneling and wood stringers in that area. A window in the empennage allowed for inspections of the elevator control attachments only in the tail, and the rudder control attachments could be inspected externally. Therefore, the mechanic was unable to inspect the cables and turnbuckle assemblies contained in the interior of the airplane's fuselage.
Probable Cause: The failure of unknown personnel to properly safety an elevator control cable turnbuckle, which disconnected in flight resulting in loss of pitch control. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate design of the experimental airplane, which did not provide a mechanism for accessing the entire flight control system during routine inspections.
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?nNumberTxt=6190
Accident investigation:
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Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Apr-2017 19:35 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 24-Apr-2017 00:49 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage] |
| 24-Apr-2017 00:56 | Geno | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Apr-2017 01:15 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 24-Apr-2017 04:38 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 24-Apr-2017 09:08 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 24-Apr-2017 09:09 | Aerossurance | Updated [Damage, Narrative] |
| 24-Apr-2017 19:51 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Apr-2017 19:52 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 02-Mar-2019 14:46 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 03-Mar-2019 12:04 | harro | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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