Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Leadore, Idaho 83464
Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the powered parachute reported that while in cruise flight and after increasing engine power, he discovered that the throttle cables were stuck and inoperable. He then attempted to reduce power, but the power reduction was too slow so he elected to land in an open field.During the landing flare, about 10 to 15 feet above the ground, the airplane's chute stalled, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent substantial damage to the powered parachute. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies with the airframe or engine prior to or during the flight, and he could not determine how the throttle had become inoperative.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The stuck throttle cable and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during landing, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/25/2009
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Leadore
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83464
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444134N
Event Location Longitude 1132943W
Event Location Airport --
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1655 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 335
Weather Observation Facility ID SMN
Elevation of weather observation facility 4043
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 45
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.32
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26578
NTSB Notification Source Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 6 2010 10:05AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4036U
NTSB Number WPR10LA032
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 Powrachute
Aircraft Model PC 2000
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number A045POW
Certified Max Gross Weight 1000
Aircraft Category --
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ron Summers
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Dell
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59724
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Dale Peterson
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Leadore
Operator State ID
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 83494
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Leadore
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Leadore
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 29 2010 5:40PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --