Flight CTLS N521CT

Summary

On 18 May 2021 at about 01:00 local time, a Flight CTLS registered N521CT, operated by Racine Sport Flyers, was involved in an accident near Racine, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 May 2021 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Racine, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Batten Intl (RAC)

Coordinates

42.7537, -87.8048

Aircraft

Flight CTLS

Registration

N521CT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Racine Sport Flyers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA222

1 person had minor injuries.

The fatigue failure of the carburetor throttle control cable, which resulted in a partial loss of engine control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a solo cross-country flight, the student pilot returned to the departure airport after the engine began to vibrate when power was reduced. She attempted three landings that were aborted due to excessive airspeed. During the fourth landing attempt, the airplane touched down fast and bounced several times on the runway. The student pilot aborted the landing and added full engine power to climb, but the airspeed decreased. The airplane collided with a tree and a building and was destroyed by impact forces. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that one of the two throttle control cables had separated from its carburetor at the control arm. The cable separation from the carburetor resulted in the carburetor’s spring-loaded throttle control moving to full throttle while the second carburetor would have been at a position selected by the cockpit throttle control. When the pilot reduced the cockpit throttle control for landing, the carburetor with the broken cable would have continued operating at maximum throttle regardless of the cockpit throttle control position, which likely resulted in the engine vibration and the excessive airspeed for landing. Metallurgical examination of the separated control cable revealed that a tightly focused clamping force on the carburetor cable attachment bolt resulted in fatigue failure of the cable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.