Pilot Debrief

BEECH 400 near Bentonville, AR — 2024-02-14

Final reportCEN24LA115
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Date
2024-02-14
Location
Bentonville, AR, USA
Airport
VBT
Aircraft
BEECH 400
Registration
N95GK
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

Improper rigging of the elevator cable over the upper guard pin, which resulted in a cable separation and loss of elevator control.

NTSB narrative

During the takeoff the pilot pulled the airplane’s control yoke aft to rotate and the airplane lifted off the runway as normal. The nose of the airplane dropped, and the pilot applied additional backpressure on the yoke. The pilot reported he felt a “snap” followed by a lack of tension on the control yoke. The airplane pitched down and settled back on the runway. The pilot applied maximum braking and full thrust reverse; however, the airplane continued off the end of the runway. The pilot applied left rudder and brake to turn the airplane to avoid contacting a gas station. The landing gear collapsed during the turn, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing when it struck the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the elevator control cable was fractured at a pulley bracket near the aft portion of the fuselage where the cable transitioned from a horizontal to a vertical orientation. A metallurgical examination found nearly all the wires of the cable had rubbing damage to varying extents around the sides of the wires near the fracture. The upper guard pin exhibited wear, scratch marks, and gouges. The pulley contained several isolated wire fragments. The damage on the cable, upper guard pin on the pulley, and the pulley assembly was consistent with the cable having been improperly routed on the wrong side of the upper guard pin. Over time, the cable likely rubbed against the upper guard pin until the cable was sufficiently damaged to produce failure under normal operating loads. A review of the maintenance logbook entries found that the elevator cable was replaced about a year before the accident and that the airplane flew about 316.5 hours before the cable separated.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Proper inspection of elevator control cables before flight could have prevented failure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents5

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