You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.
| Date: | Saturday 22 February 2020 |
| Time: | 09:20 |
| Type: |  Cessna Ector 305A Mountaineer |
| Owner/operator: | Honolulu Soaring Club Inc |
| Registration: | N65070 |
| MSN: | 2035 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Engine model: | Continental O-470 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH) |
| Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight instructor was providing familiarization training to the airline transport pilot in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. Witnesses saw the airplane land hard; the pilots shut down the engine on the runway, the instructor got out and inspected the airplane, then boarded the airplane again and the pilots subsequently departed. The witnesses stated that, upon becoming airborne, the airplane entered significant right yaw over the runway. The airplane continued to the right and subsequently impacted terrain about 1,000 ft from the runway.
Examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airframe revealed that the left rudder cable was separated at the rudder pulley area behind the rear seat floor and displayed a combination of severely frayed and fractured strands with tension overload signatures. There was evidence of cable abrasions and rubbing in the area of the pulley bracket. A detailed examination of the cable fractures revealed that only 16 of the 133 total wires that comprised the cable were intact before they failed in overload, resulting in cable separation. The remainder of the cable strand wires were either degraded, shortened, or bent, indicative of abnormal cable contact and abrasion. Although the aileron and elevator control cables were continuous or displayed indications of overload separation due to impact, all of the cables exhibited areas of fraying and extensive wear.
The most recent documented maintenance was a 100-hour inspection completed 5 months before the accident. The mechanic who had been responsible for maintaining the airplane for the previous 2 years stated that he cleaned, inspected, and lubricated the flight control cables during the inspection; however, the debris in the under-floor compartment, excessive black grease deposits, significant wear and fractured wires of each control cable were indicative of wear that had occurred over a period of time that should have been observed and rectified during previous inspections.
Based on witness statements and examination of the wreckage, the pilots experienced a loss of yaw control after takeoff due to an overload separation of the left rudder cable and were unable to regain adequate control to land safely. Although when the separation occurred could not be determined, it is possible that the hard landing just before the accident takeoff may have caused the already degraded rudder cable to be displaced and encounter excessive stress loads in the pulley area.
Probable Cause: A separation of the left rudder cable due to inadequate maintenance, which resulted in an in-flight loss of control and impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/hawaii/articles/2020-02-22/1-dead-in-hawaii-plane-crash-at-dillingham-airfield
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/02/22/breaking-news/officials-responding-to-report-of-downed-aircraft-at-dillingham-airfield/
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hfd-one-person-dead-in-plane-crash-in-dillingham-airfield-area/
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=65070
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/58299_1536706459.jpg (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 7 November 2013 | N65070 | Honolulu Soaring Club Inc | 0 | Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH) | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Feb-2020 21:09 | Geno | Added |
| 22-Feb-2020 21:17 | Geno | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 22-Feb-2020 23:17 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 00:00 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 07:45 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 09:58 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 10:18 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 16:48 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 19:58 | harro | Updated [Source, ] |
| 23-Feb-2020 21:22 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jun-2021 19:40 | aaronwk | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:03 | Captain Adam | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo, ] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:05 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 08-Jun-2023 21:33 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2025 Flight Safety Foundation