19990117000529A

Pilot contacted a local controller and advised that the acft was experiencing control problems and that he was going to abandon the acft. Other circumstances are unknown. (.19)on January 17, 1999, at 1324 hours pacific standard time an experimental abraham j g ii/erickson k, N857JA, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering approxiamtely 12 mile north of the north Las Vegas airport, Las Vegas, Nevada. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot/owner, the sole occupant, parachuted from the aricraft and was not injuried. The local personal flight was operated under 14 CFR part 91. In an interview by an NTSB investigator, the pilot reported that he had gone out to the practice area to practice outside snap rolls. Th stated that he had entered the snap roll at 5,500 feet mean sea level. The pilot reported that while in vertical flight he "stomped" on the left rudder and reported that rudder cable had become "detached." He reported that the aircraft was in straight and level flight and that the reached down to verify that the cable had detached from the rudder. He further reproted that he communicated with the tower the of the emergency. The aricraft entered a right bank and the pilot jumped out of the aircraft and parachuted to safety. The pilot reported that there were no further mechanical malfunctions noted with the aircraft or engine.(.4)the pilot indicated the purpose of the flight was to practice outside snap rolls. When he pressed on the left rudder pedal, it went all the way to the floor with no resistance. He reported that the airplane was in straight and level flight when he reached down to verify that the cable was detached, hoping to be able to control the airplane when he realized that the cable was slack from the rear of the airplane. He then informed the tower of the emergency. The airplane entered a right bank from which the pilot could not recover and he jumped out of the airplane and parachuted to safety. The airplane wreckage was examined. The right rudder cable was found continuous from the cockpit pedal to the rudder control horn, with the horn end of the cable secured with a nicopress fitting. The left rudder cable was attached to the cockpit pedal but was detached from the rudder horn. The left cable to horn nicopress fitting was not on the cable's horn end and th e left rudder cable and exhibited long and even splaying. When the cable was streched out, it went all the way back to the rudder horn and was nearly identical in length to the right cable. A search of the accident site failed to locate the missing nicopress fitting.