# Accident 19970502007729A: Amtr TALONXP, Redmond, OR, May 2, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 2, 1997, 15:15 local time
- Place: Redmond, OR
- Airport: Cline Falls
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.2600° N, 121.2196° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.2600&lon=-121.2196&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6291X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6291X-2024-01-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hendrix Robert A TALON XP (registry code 05603AE, https://openairdocs.org/model/hendrix-robert-a-talon-xp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotax SEE BOMBADIER (registry code 55555, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-see-bombadier) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR TALONXP
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX582
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 148 total, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA97LA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA096) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970502007729A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CONTROL STICK BROKE OFF, LOST ALTITUDE, DEPLOYED AIRCRAFT PARACHUTE, LANDED IN A FIELD NEAR THE RUNWAY. (.4) THE OWNER/BUILDER (PILOT) OF THE KITPLANE HAD ACCRUED APPROXIMATELY 70 HOURS OF OPERATING TIME ON THE AIRCRAFT. DURING A FLIGHT, HE BEGAN TO LOSE AILERON CONTROL. SHORTLY AFTER ENTERING DOWNWIND FOR LANDING, ALL AILERON AND ELEVATOR CONTROL WERE LOST, AND THE PILOT ACTUATED THE AIRCRAFT'S BALLISTIC PARACHUTE. POSTCRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE PILOT HAD INSTALLED ONLY THE FORWARD CONTROL STICK AND TORQUE TUBE, AND HAD NOT INSTALLED EITHER THE REAR FLIGHT CONTROL STICK NOR THE INTERLINK TUBE. THIS ABSENCE RESULTED IN A STRUCTURALLY WEAKENED CONTROL SYSTEM AND SUBSEQUENT DISCONNECT OF THE FORWARD FLIGHT CONTROL STICK FROM THE TORQUE TUBE IN TORSIONAL OVERLOAD. THERE WAS NO CAUTION NOTE WITHIN THE KITPLANE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS ADVISING THE BUILDER THAT FAILURE TO INSTALL EITHER THE AFT CONTROL STICK AND/OR INTERLINK TUBE WOULD RESULT IN A COMPROMISE OF THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE FORE AND AFT STICK, TORQUE TUBE AND INTERLINK TUBE ASSEMBLY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA97LA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA096), May 2, 1997: Hendrix Talon XP (N6291X), Redmond, OR, substantial damage. Probable cause: incomplete installation (omission of the aft control stick and interlink tube) of the flight control system, resulting in failure of the combined (torque) elevator and aileron rod and a disconnection…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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