Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-32-300 near Oklahoma City, OK — 2011-04-07

Final reportCEN11LA275
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Date
2011-04-07
Location
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Airport
HSD
Aircraft
PIPER PA-32-300
Registration
N31407
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The loss of aircraft control due to the failure of the stabilator control cable turnbuckle.

NTSB narrative

The airplane nosed over shortly after takeoff and impacted the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall. A postaccident examination revealed that a stabilator control cable had failed at a turnbuckle as a result of stress corrosion cracking, which compromised the pilot's ability to control the pitch attitude of the airplane. The airplane was within the maintenance inspection requirements at the time of the accident, with the most recent annual inspection being completed about 1 year prior to the accident. The airplane service manual included a special control cable fitting inspection for airplanes in service 15 years or more. Any evidence of corrosion or cracking was cause for replacement according to the service manual. The accident pilot had owned the airplane for about 26 years. During the time he owned the airplane, the control cables had not been replaced. The investigation could not determine when the stress corrosion cracking commenced on the turnbuckle.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Replace control cables as per service manual due to age and corrosion risk.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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