# Accident 20170408003589A: Piper PA-12, Sanford, FL, April 8, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 8, 2017, 12:56 local time
- Place: Sanford, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 28.7700° N, 81.2189° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.7700&lon=-81.2189&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3280M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3280M-2017-11-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-12 (registry code 7101202, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-12
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 25,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA17FA148](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17FA148) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170408003589A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 8, 2017, ABOUT 1256 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-12, N3280M, WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT AND A POSTCRASH FIRE AFTER TAKEOFF FROM ORLANDO SANFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SFB),

ORLANDO, FLORIDA. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER

THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL CABLES REVEALED THAT A NOSE-UP CONTROL STICK INPUT RESULTED IN A NOSE-DOWN DEFLECTION OF THE ELEVATOR AND VICE VERSA. FURTHER  EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE ELEVATOR CONTROL CABLES WERE IMPROPERLY RIGGED, SUCH THAT THEY WERE ATTACHED TO THE INCORRECT (OPPOSITE) LOCATIONS ON THE UPPER AND LOWER ELEVATOR CONTROL HORN.

## 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 ERA17FA148](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17FA148), Apr 8, 2017: Piper PA 12 (N3280M), Sanford, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The incorrect rigging of the elevator control cables, which resulted in a reversal of elevator control inputs applied by the pilot during the takeoff, an excessive nose-high pitch, and subsequent…

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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