Piper PA-12 N2493M

Summary

On 2 October 1999 at about 13:50 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N2493M was involved in an accident near Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 October 1999 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Las Cruces International (LRU)

Coordinates

32.3098, -107.0594

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N2493M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Paso → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA003

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent ground loop/swerve during landing. A factor was his attention being diverted by a malfunctioning throttle control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that while on final approach to runway 26, engine power remained too high even though the throttle had been completely retarded. On the second approach, engine power was still too high even with the throttle closed. He initiated a second go around and when the airplane was 50 feet above the ground, the mixture control was slowly moved towards idle cutoff 'to decrease power.' The airplane touched down at high speed. Directional control was lost when the pilot became distracted, and the airplane ground looped to the right. The left wing buckled when it struck the runway, and the side loads tore off the left main landing gear and damaged the right main landing gear. It was later discovered that the clamp securing the throttle sleeve to the throttle housing had come loose, allowing the sleeve (not the cable) to move when the throttle control was operated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.