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| Date: | Monday 14 August 1989 |
| Time: | 11:12 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-23-250 Aztec |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N4838P |
| MSN: | 27-408 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2554 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-A1D5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake Tahoe, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Sunriver, OR (S21) |
| Lake Tahoe, CA (TVL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
APPROACHING THE airport, THE PLT RECEIVED LDG INSTRUCTIONS. SECONDS LATER, HIS TRANSMISSIONS WERE ABRUPTLY TERMINATED. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE ACFT ABRUPTLY NOSE OVER & DESCEND INTO WATER AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. IT FRAGMENTED UPON IMPACT & IMMEDIATELY SANK. THE ACFT HAD RECENTLY UNDERGONE MAINTENANCE INVOLVING THE REMOVAL & INSTALLATION OF ITS WINGS, & INSTALLATION OF AN AUTOPILOT & ELECTRIC TRIM. FOLLOWING THIS WORK, THE ACFT WAS FLIGHT TESTED. DURING THE TEST, THE PLT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF CONTROL & THE ACFT PITCHED DOWN IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO THAT DESCRIBED BY WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. EXAM OF THE UPPER STABILATOR PULLEY ASSEMBLY REVEALED THAT ITS RESPECTIVE CONTROL CABLE HAD BEEN WORKING AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE PULLEY. THE PULLEY WAS FRACTURED, & THE CABLE HAD BECOME WEDGED IN THE PULLEY, WHICH (IN TURN) HAD BECOME WEDGED AGAINST THE SIDE OF ITS SUPPORT BRACKET. THIS ACTION RESTRICTED STABILATOR MOVEMENT. CAUSE: DISABLEMENT OF THE STABILATOR FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS: INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001213X29139
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
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