Zacharius ACRODUSTER I N6614R

Summary

On 10 August 2001 at about 18:15 local time, a Zacharius ACRODUSTER I registered N6614R was involved in an accident near Conroe, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 August 2001 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Conroe, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.3209, -95.4701

Aircraft

Zacharius ACRODUSTER I

Registration

N6614R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Conroe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01LA181

Nobody was injured.

the mechanic's inadequate inspection which resulted in the undetected corroded rudder cable and its subsequent failure during aerobatic maneuvers.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing aerobatic maneuvers when the airplane's right rudder cable separated. He flew the airplane to an open field, and while at 4,300 feet msl, exited the airplane. Once clear of the airplane, he deployed his parachute. He stated that he observed the airplane enter a descent, and subsequently, impact trees. The pilot landed on a dirt road without further incident. There were no reported ground injuries. Review of photographs taken at the accident site revealed that the rudder control cables displayed extensive corrosion. In addition to the total separation of the right rudder cable as a result of corrosion, other segments of the cable displayed separation of some cable strands. Review of the aircraft's maintenance records revealed that the aircraft underwent its last condition inspection on May 12, 2001, at an aircraft total time of 540.96 hours. The condition inspection was the last entry in the aircraft logbook and it read in part, "inspected and lubed control and cables." At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated approximately 18 hours since the last condition inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.