Auburn - Opelika Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Auburn, Alabama 36830
Tuesady, February 3, 2004 14:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the flight crew, during the takeoff roll the co-pilot noticed that the right rudder and trim controls were not responding. During the flight they began to diagnose the problem. The pilot continued the flight and made an uneventfully landing. During the post-landing examination of the airplane, the right rudder cable was found broken. Examination of the rudder cable by the NTSB Materials Laboratory found that the wire rope portion of the cable was fractured just inside the clevis fitting at the forward end of the cable. The fracture of the wire rope portion on the control cable assembly was the result of fatigue cracking that initiated because of the introduction of bending loads due to the over-torque of the clevis bolt during the manufacturing process.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The fatigue fracture of the wire rope portion on the rudder control cable assembly due to improper installation and inadequate procedures by the aircraft manufacturer.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 2/3/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Auburn
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 36830
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 323700N
Event Location Longitude 0852600W
Event Location Airport Auburn - Opelika
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AUO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 640
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1350 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID AUO
Elevation of weather observation facility 640
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 12
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) 551
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17673
NTSB Notification Source Rushton Air
NTSB Notification Date Feb 3 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N125AR
NTSB Number ATL04IA073
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 208B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2080925
Certified Max Gross Weight 9000
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 11
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Jan 12 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 1547
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Rushton Air
Aircraft Owner Street Address 700 Airport Rd
Aircraft Owner City Auburn
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36830
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Rushton Air
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 700 Airport Road
Operator City Auburn
Operator State AL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 36830
Operator Code YRAA
Owner has at least one certificate --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CSG
Departure City Columbus
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1340
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AUO
Destination City Auburn
Destination State AL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 6 2005 9:56AM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --