Gary James Lail ZENITH CH 750 CRUZER N9667Z

Summary

On 17 July 2021 at about 21:10 local time, a Gary James Lail ZENITH CH 750 CRUZER registered N9667Z was involved in an accident near Blossom, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 July 2021 at 21:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Blossom, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.6328, -95.3805

Aircraft

Gary James Lail ZENITH CH 750 CRUZER

Registration

N9667Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

2018

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA326

2 people were seriously injured.

The improper swaging of the rudder control cable, which disconnected during flight and resulted in the loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Immediately after takeoff, the experimental airplane experienced a rudder control malfunction, and the pilot landed back on the runway. The pilot was unable to maintain control, and the airplane departed the runway. During the runway excursion, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. A postaccident examination of the flight controls revealed that the control cable that should have been connected to the pilot’s left rudder pedal was separated at the point where it had been swaged to the end fitting. The other flight control cables were swaged in a similar manner, and all were done improperly according to the airplane kit manufacturer. There were no other anomalies noted with the airplane. The airplane was built about 3 years before the accident, and the airplane maintenance logbooks did not show any entries related to the rudder cables. Therefore, it is likely that the cables were improperly swaged during the original build of the airplane, and the error was not discovered during subsequent condition inspections.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.