Cessna 182S N518CR

Summary

On 9 April 2004 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 182S registered N518CR was involved in an accident near Plainville, Connecticut, 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

9 April 2004 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Plainville, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Robertson Airport (4B8)

Coordinates

41.6903, -72.8647

Aircraft

Cessna 182S

Registration

N518CR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Plainville → Oxford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC04LA106

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the elevator servo which resulted in restricted elevator movement and the pilot's inability to initiate a landing flare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the climbout, the pilot could not lower the nose of the airplane without using excessive force on the yoke. He then attempted to use the manual elevator trim wheel to lower the nose. When the manual elevator trim wheel was rolled forward, and released, it rolled back on its own to the original position. The pilot performed all of the published emergencies; however, the situation did not change. The pilot elected to discontinue the flight, and performed a forced landing back to the airport. While landing, the airplane had an excessive nose high attitude, and the pilot aggressively pushed the nose over with the yoke. The airplane touched down hard, collapsing the nose wheel assembly, and slid to a stop on the runway. The pilot further stated that he did not recall engaging the autopilot during the flight, and did not attempt to use the elevator trim switch located on the yoke. Examination of the wreckage revealed no abnormalities with the autopilot, or the flight controls when they were tested. Two days before the accident, the pilot consulted an avionics mechanic about the elevator control being stiff and difficult to move. The mechanic examined the airplane and stated that "it checked out OK, but there was a possibility that at some time, the elevator servo might jam in an unscheduled position." The pilot and mechanic agreed that the servos would be replaced at a later date. The servos were not replaced until after the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.