Climax Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bainbridge, Georgia 31717
Thursday, June 13, 2002 18:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff and climb, at an altitude of about 300 feet, the pilot noticed the passenger in the front seat turn around in his seat to look backwards, and almost simultaneously the throttle came to idle and would not respond. The pilot said that it appeared that the front seat passenger had "...apparently used the connecting throttle linkage for a hand hold and broke or disconnected it" from the seat in the rear cockpit. With no power and almost at stall speed the pilot leveled off and crashed straight ahead into a wooded area. During the examination of the wreckage, it could not be ascertained whether the throttle was jammed or disconnected, due to impact damage, and the demolished condition of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a loss of power due to the passenger's inadvertent deactivation and restricting the movement of the throttle, which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent impact with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/13/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1845
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Bainbridge
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31717
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 305959N
Event Location Longitude 0843022W
Event Location Airport Climax Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 300
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 40
Weather Observation Facility ID KABY
Elevation of weather observation facility 197
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 41
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.8
Density Altitude (feet) 2490
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12616
NTSB Notification Source FAA SE Reg Com Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Jun 13 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2045
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 16 2003 4:27PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Atlanta FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7224X
NTSB Number MIA02LA110
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Harrison
Aircraft Model Pietenpol Air Camper
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 003
Certified Max Gross Weight 960
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 16 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25.2
Airframe Hours 239.3
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Larry D. Harrison
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2361 Fowlstown Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Bainbridge
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31717
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Bainbridge
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 6 2002 10:16AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 090
Runway Length 1800
Runway Width 120
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --