Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Raleigh Executive Jetport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sanford, North Carolina 27330
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 15:53 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The private pilot was in the traffic pattern at the intended destination airport when the airplane experienced a loss of engine throttle control. Unable to reach the runway, he elected to perform a forced landing in a nearby field. During the landing, the airplane struck a fence post, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing of the airplane.
Postaccident examination revealed that the throttle lever clevis and throttle cable became separated from the throttle arm, which resulted in the engine being unresponsive to throttle input; thus, the pilot could not apply power to the engine from the idle position. No evidence of metal deformation existed on either the throttle lever clevis or on the throttle cable; however, examination of the cotter pin revealed that one prong was separated and unable to be located. Examination of the remaining portion of the cotter pin revealed that it was twice as long as manufacturer-approved guidance required. Examination of the clevis for the propeller cable linkage revealed that the cotter pin prongs exceeded Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 43-13-1B guidance by allowing the prong to exceed the pin diameter and the cotter pin prongs were not seated firmly against the shank. A review of maintenance records did not reveal when the cotter pin was replaced. The hardware was likely installed using the incorrect safetying technique and the improper length of cotter pin. This allowed the prong to become caught and subsequently fracture on nearby hardware, which resulted in the cotter pin becoming unsecured and separating from the linkage pin. Subsequently, the linkage pin detached, which allowed the throttle lever clevis and cable to separate from each other. The last annual inspection occurred 2 weeks and less than 1 flight hour before the accident. It is likely that the mechanic did not detect the incorrect cotter pin and safetying technique due to its location; the location was such that it would have been difficult for the mechanic to see.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The installation of an incorrect length of cotter pin on the throttle linkage clevis pin by maintenance personnel at an undetermined time, which resulted in the pin coming loose and the loss of throttle control.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/27/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1553 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Sanford |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27330 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 353457N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0790605W |
| Event Location Airport | Raleigh Executive Jetport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TTA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 246 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1555 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 33 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TTA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 246 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.73 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31496 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 20 2013 2:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1953H |
| NTSB Number | ERA13LA148 |
| 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-32-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-7740044 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 15 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4014 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | REKME AERO LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | PITTSBORO |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27312-1209 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Raymond Kelley |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | PITTSBORO |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 27312-1209 |
| 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 | 5W8 |
| Departure City | Siler City |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1543 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TTA |
| Destination City | Sanford |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 26 2013 1:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 6500 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |