# NTSB ANC07LA081: Maule M-7-235, N56568, Fairbanks, AK, August 16, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 15, 2007, 16:30 local (Aug 16, 2007, 00:30 UTC) - Place: Fairbanks, AK - Coordinates: 64.8138888888889, -147.918333333333 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.8139&lon=-147.9183&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report April 30, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 66452 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC07LA081 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66452/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC07LA081 ## Probable cause The reversal of the elevator control cables by maintenance personnel, and the inadequate preflight inspection by the flight instructor and dual student. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - roll/run - flt control syst,elevator control cable/rod - reversed (cause) - maintenance,installation - improper, other maintenance personnel (cause) - preflight planning/preparation - inadequate, dual student (cause) - preflight planning/preparation - inadequate, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) - Nose over, takeoff - roll/run - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis A flight instructor (CFI) was giving a flight review to a private pilot, in the private pilot's airplane. The airplane had an annual inspection during which the elevator was removed and replaced, and this was the first flight since the repairs. The CFI said that during the takeoff roll, as soon as the private pilot moved the yoke aft, the airplane nosed over, and came to rest inverted. An FAA inspector did a postaccident inspection, revealing that the elevator cables were connected backwards, reversing the control yoke actions, and resulting in down elevator when the yoke was pulled aft. The CFI reported that he and the private pilot did a preflight inspection of the airplane, but failed to check for the correct travel of the airplane's elevator. In his written statement to the NTSB, the CFI wrote, in part: "The elevator is hard or impossible to see while being buckled in the aircraft, but [it] should have been discovered." ## Factual narrative On August 15, 2007, about 1630 Alaska daylight time, a Maule M-7-235 airplane, N56568, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during takeoff from the Chena Marina Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) sustained serious injuries, and the private pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office responded to the accident scene shortly after the accident, and examined the airplane prior to recovery efforts. The FAA inspector reported that rescue personnel who had talked to the pilot shortly after the accident, before he was transported to the hospital, said that the pilot told them that he was beginning his takeoff run, and as soon as the control yoke was pulled aft to fly off the runway, the airplane nosed over. The airplane came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, vertical stabilizer, and both wing lift-struts. The FAA inspector reported that a postaccident inspection revealed the elevator cables were connected backwards, reversing the control yoke actions, and resulting in down elevator when the yoke was pulled aft. He said that a review of the airplane's maintenance logs disclosed that the airplane's elevator cables had been replaced during a previous annual inspection. In his written statement to the NTSB dated September 15, 2007, the CFI reported that at the time of the accident, he was giving a flight review to the airplane's owner, a private pilot. He said that the accident airplane had two annual inspections within the last two years, during which the elevator had been removed and replaced. The airplane had not been flown since either of the annual inspections. The most recent annual inspection was on August 9, 2007, 6 days before the accident. The CFI reported that he, along with the private pilot, did a preflight inspection of the airplane before the accident flight, but he said that he did not specifically check for the correct travel of the airplane's elevator. He wrote, in part: "The elevator is hard or impossible to see while buckled in the aircraft, but [it] should have been discovered." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N56568](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N56568-2018-02-15), registration cancelled 2018-02-15, S/N 4012C, built 1984 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Maule M-7-235 - Registry model: [Maule M-7-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-7-235) (registry code 5470208) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 4012C - Airframe hours: 1745.3 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540-W1A5D 235 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Richard F. Sterling - Registered owner: Todd J. Summey - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 1, 2007, 0 hours before - Departed: AK28, Fairbanks, AK - Destination: AK28 - Airport: AK28, Chena Marina Airport, runway 18, 4,700 × 60 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: minor; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2006; seat: right; flight hours: 1,103 total, 1 in this make and model, 967 as pilot in command, 46 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 41; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 375 total, 275 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days, 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 9,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 61 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: FAI ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070815017739A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070815017739A), Aug 15, 2007: Maule M7235, Fairbanks, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] elevator flight controls were hooked up improperly or backwards (pull back on the yoke causes the aircraft to go nose down, push… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.