American Champion 7ECA N790L

Summary

On 7 October 2020 at about 20:50 local time, a American Champion 7ECA registered N790L, operated by Letourneau University, was involved in an accident near Longview, Texas, United States. One person was 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

7 October 2020 at 20:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Longview, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

East Texas Regional Airport (GGG)

Coordinates

32.3840, -94.7115

Aircraft

American Champion 7ECA

Registration

N790L

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Letourneau University

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA033

Nobody was injured.

The improper installation of a clevis pin in the rudder system which led to a loss of directional control during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing, when he attempted to input right rudder to correct for a left turn, the right rudder pedal moved full forward and prevented use of the right rudder or right brake. The airplane continued to turn left, exited the runway, and impacted a ditch resulting in substantial damage. After the accident it was found that the clevis pin that secured the rudder pedal to the top of the brake master cylinder had disconnected. The clevis pin was later found in the belly of the airplane. The cotter key that should have been installed to secure the clevis pin was not found, indicating that the cotter key likely was not installed. The most recent maintenance performed on the rudder pedals was about 1 year earlier and the airplane had accumulated about 500 hours since that maintenance was performed. Based on the evidence, it is likely that when maintenance was performed on the rudder pedals 1 year earlier the installation of the retaining cotter key was not accomplished by maintenance personnel. This error did not manifest until the clevis pin eventually worked loose and prevented the use of the right rudder and brake during the landing roll and resulted in the loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.