Pilot Debrief

PITTS S-1T near Spring, TX — 2022-02-17

Final reportCEN22LA123
Sign in to save
Date
2022-02-17
Location
Spring, TX, USA
Airport
DWH
Aircraft
PITTS S-1T
Registration
N731FL
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The failure of maintenance personnel to properly connect the throttle cable, which led to the pilot’s inability to control engine power during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s misjudgment of the headwind during the forced landing, which resulted in the airplane’s touchdown short of the runway and its impact with airport structures.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the initial climbout, the engine did not respond to his throttle movements. The pilot turned the airplane back toward the airport and entered the downwind leg. While on the base leg, the pilot turned off the engine ignition switch and performed a forced landing. Due to a higher-than-anticipated headwind, the pilot misjudged the flight profile, and the airplane touched down short of the runway and impacted instrument landing system structures, which damaged both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage. Postaccident examination revealed the throttle cable was disconnected from the throttle lever arm at the fuel injector/control. A loose washer was found at the bottom of the engine cowling, and the castellated nut and cotter pin required for proper installation of the throttle linkage were not located. During the last annual inspection, the throttle cable had been disconnected to perform maintenance actions. The linkage hardware was likely not secured properly after that maintenance was performed, which resulted in the separation and subsequently the engine did not to respond to the pilot’s inputs during initial climb.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Reconnect throttle cable after maintenance to prevent power loss.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents5

Related mishaps