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| Date: | Saturday 18 June 2022 |
| Time: | 14:54 |
| Type: |  Cessna 336 Skymaster |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N3835U |
| MSN: | 336-0135 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Porterville, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Porterville Airport, CA (PTV/KPTV) |
| Shafter-Kern County Airport, CA (MIT/KMIT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 18, 2022, about 1454 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 336, N3835U, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Porterville, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations part 91 personal flight.
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot transmitted over the radio that he had lost “almost all pitch control,” but thought that he would be able to return and land at the departure airport. Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that the airplane climbed to about 1,550 ft mean sea level (msl) before entering a descending right 180° turn toward the departure airport. The airplane leveled off about 1,000 ft msl and continued toward the airport. About two minutes later, the airplane entered a descent from 975 ft that continued to ground contact.
Witnesses reported that they observed the airplane flying at low altitude when it suddenly descended into the ground in a steep, nose-low, wings-level attitude.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the bolt, castellated nut, and cotter pin that connected the balance weight to the elevator control assembly were missing. Soot was observed within the area of both connection points, including where the bolt and washer would have been installed, consistent with the hardware not being installed at the time of the accident. It is likely that the bolt separated while in flight, resulting in a loss of elevator pitch control. The missing bolt, nut, washer, and cotter pin were not located.
The airplane was painted and returned to service about 28 days before the accident, which included removal and reinstallation of all the flight controls. It could not be determined if the securing hardware (nut and cotter pin) were installed at the time of the reinstallation of the elevator.
Toxicology testing of the pilot revealed the presence of ethanol in liver tissue; however, the detected ethanol likely was from postmortem production. Thus, it is unlikely that ethanol contributed to the accident.
Probable Cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to properly secure the elevator control assembly hardware, which resulted in an in-flight disconnection of the elevator and elevator counterweight and the pilot’s inability to maintain pitch control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://abc30.com/photos-from-the-scene-show-a-large-swathe-of-charred-grass-still-smoking-what-appears-to-have-been-fiery-crash/11975020/
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article262670932.html
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105275
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=3835U
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N3835U
https://media.sandhills.com/n3835u-1964-cessna-336/img.axd?id=1307276&wid=6072144879&rwl=False&p=&ext=&w=614&h=460&t=&lp=&c=True&wt=False&sz=Max&rt=0&checksum=ctYUrjkKPA1YNl24WCu9E11Ra%2f1iSUGNzPBAGlFGQIs%3d (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Jun-2022 02:06 | Geno | Added |
| 19-Jun-2022 05:07 | AgOps | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Category, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 05:07 | harro | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 06:21 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 06:46 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 06:47 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jun-2022 11:42 | johnwg | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 22-Jun-2022 07:13 | Anon. | Updated [Destination airport, ] |
| 06-Jul-2022 22:56 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 14-May-2024 20:18 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo, ] |
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