Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bella Vista, Arkansas 72714
Saturday, September 7, 2002 9:45 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The CFI demonstrated a power-off stall to the student, and when he applied full power during the recovery, the throttle stuck between 1800-1900 rpm. The CFI verified that the friction lock was unlocked and attempted to push the throttle forward with both hands; however, the throttle would not advance forward. The pilot elected not to move the throttle back toward idle. The airplane was unable to maintain altitude, and a forced landing was initiated to a golf course. The CFI stated that he moved the throttle to idle on short final, and the throttle moved aft smoothly. The airplane touched down and during the landing roll the left landing gear contacted a sand trap, the airplane pivoted 90 degrees, and came to rest upright. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the throttle cable's retaining bolt, nut, washer, and cotter pin were in place on the throttle lever arm of the carburetor, and the cable was secure in the mounting brace attached to the engine. The throttle cable was bent (approximately 75 degrees) into the engine truss, as a result of the impact. The throttle cable was moved from the full forward position (the position it was in when personnel arrived at the site) to the idle position; however, it was not possible to move the throttle. The airplane was moved from the accident site and second examination took place. During this examination it was determined that the cable installation at the throttle quadrant and carburetor were found to be proper. The throttle control was moved and the cable was observed to move, up to the point of the 75-degree bend. The cable was straightened and normal travel of the throttle cable was attained, although some binding was noted near the idle position. The throttle cable was then disassembled at the throttle control attach point, and the cable was removed. The inner cable was then removed from its outer sheathing. The inner cable winding was "somewhat bulged or unwound" at the upper end just forward of the throttle lever attach point. The cable sheath displayed a "shined spot" at a location corresponding to the unwound area. No other anomalies were noted. The reason for the binding was not determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The binding throttle control cable, which resulted in a forced landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/7/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 945 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Bella Vista |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 72714 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 365000N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0942000W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1000 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | VBT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1296 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 110 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2949 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12981 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 10 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 800 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 15 2003 4:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N686FL |
| NTSB Number | FTW02LA252 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7125620 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 3 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1.02 |
| Airframe Hours | 3035.25 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Precision Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 500-7 Airport Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bentonville |
| Aircraft Owner State | AR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 72712 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Hughes Aviation |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | VBT |
| Departure City | Bentonville |
| Departure State | AR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 29 2003 2:19PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |