Lancair 235 N7156W

Summary

On 30 July 2003 at about 16:00 local time, a Lancair 235 registered N7156W, operated by John J Shippey, was involved in an accident near Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2003 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Payne, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Isbell Field (4A9)

Coordinates

34.4736, -85.7214

Aircraft

Lancair 235

Registration

N7156W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John J Shippey

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Payne → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03LA121

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to properly reconnect the mixture control cable resulting in a total loss of engine power, and subsequent in-flight collision with the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he removed the carburetor from the accident airplane to troubleshoot another airplane. He reinstalled the carburetor on the accident airplane, and flew it for approximately 20 minutes. While on final approach to land on runway 4, the engine lost power. The airplane collided with trees during an attempted emergency landing. Examination of the engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions. Examination of the carburetor control system revealed that the mixture control cable was not connected. The mixture control arm on the carburetor was in the idle cut-off position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.