Piper PA-34-220T N104NW

Summary

On 9 June 2010 at about 23:20 local time, a Piper PA-34-220T registered N104NW, operated by McLaughlin John H, was involved in an accident near Ankeny, Iowa, United States. 3 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 June 2010 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Ankeny, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV)

Coordinates

41.6911, -93.5664

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-220T

Registration

N104NW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

McLaughlin John H

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Detroit Lakes → Ankeny

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA312

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the stabilator control cable due to wear. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate maintenance inspection of the stabilator control cable.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that when he pulled back on the control yoke during the landing flare the nose of the airplane did not pitch up. The airplane landed hard on the nosewheel and bounced several times before stopping on the runway. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the stabilator control cable had fractured in two pieces. The location of the fracture was in the unobstructed area in the tail cone; the location of the fracture was not associated with a pulley, fairlead, or bulkhead, and no rubbing or chaffing was found in the area of the fracture. The entire length of the cable was covered with dried black grease and the majority of the fractured ends of the individual wires exhibited wear damage with the exposed surfaces of the wires covered in grease. The ends of the fractured wires exhibited features typical of overstress separation, with no evidence of fatigue cracking. Federal Aviation Administration guidance states that the inspection and repair of control cables should be accomplished during annual inspections. The aircraft maintenance logbooks indicated that the last annual maintenance inspection was conducted about three months prior to the accident, equating to 17 flight hours. The logbook entry for that inspection indicated that the control cables were checked for correct rigging and cable tensions. The logbook entry stated, “Stabilator OK.” There was no indication of any repair or replacement of the stabilator control cable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.