Upper Cumberland Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sparta, Tennessee 38583
Saturday, July 2, 2011 10:10 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that, during the takeoff roll, he was unable to correct an uncommanded left yaw with control inputs, so he elected to abort the takeoff. During rollout, the airplane departed the left side of the runway and the landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing spar. A postaccident examination revealed that a "nicopress" fitting on the left rudder cable had failed and disconnected from its bell-crank. The cable fitting had been pressed with an improper tool or technique at installation. The airplane's entire flight control system had been refitted and re-rigged approximately 9 years prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper installation of the right rudder control cable by maintenance personnel, which resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain directional control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/2/2011
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1010
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Sparta
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 38583
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360313N
Event Location Longitude 0853130W
Event Location Airport Upper Cumberland Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SRB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1025
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID KCSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 1880
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KCSV 021453Z AUTO 36003KT 10SM CLR 27/19 A30
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28858
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern C-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 14 2011 9:32AM
User who most recently changed record broda
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N106S
NTSB Number ERA11CA375
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 TEMCO
Aircraft Model GC-1B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2221
Certified Max Gross Weight 1975
Aircraft Category Airplane
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 3 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERSON WILLIAM F JR./ ANDERSON DAL S
Aircraft Owner Street Address 320 E BROAD ST
Aircraft Owner City COOKEVILLE
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 38501
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name ROBERSON WILLIAM F
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 320 E BROAD ST
Operator City COOKEVILLE
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 38501
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code SRB
Departure City Sparta
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SRB
Destination City Sparta
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2011 1:13PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 6005
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --