Beechcraft A23-24 N3412C

Summary

On 19 July 2020 at about 03:45 local time, a Beechcraft A23-24 registered N3412C was involved in an accident near Burns Flat, Oklahoma, United States. 4 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

19 July 2020 at 03:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Burns Flat, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.3817, -99.2011

Aircraft

Beechcraft A23-24

Registration

N3412C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elk City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN20LA292

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic’s improper maintenance when he reinstalled the fuel servo during the last annual inspection, which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight when the throttle control rod-end disconnected from the fuel servo throttle linkage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and his 3 passengers were on a personal night flight when the airplane had a gradual loss of engine power. The pilot was unable to restore engine power and a forced landing was completed to a grass field. The airplane’s main landing gear collapsed when the pilot intentionally swerved the airplane to avoid a tree after landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and both wings. A postaccident examination revealed that the throttle control rod-end was not connected to the fuel servo throttle linkage. Additionally, the required retaining bolt, washer, and self-locking nut were not located during the investigation. The airplane had accumulated 8.72 flight hours since the last annual inspection, during which the fuel servo had been removed from the engine and overhauled. It is likely that the mechanic who reinstalled the fuel servo did not adequately torque the self-locking nut that secured the retaining bolt, which allowed the self-locking nut to back-off the retaining bolt. The airplane had a partial loss of engine power when the throttle control rod-end disconnected from the unsecured retaining bolt. The pilot did not have the ability to control engine power after the throttle control rod-end disconnected from the fuel servo throttle linkage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.