- Date
- November 3, 1994, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Elizabethton, TN
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6688HCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941103037339A
- Case key
- 3495
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The flexing of the rudder pedal control locking assembly which resulted in the collapse of the co-pilot's left pedal during heavy braking.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During a three point landing demonstration, the left pedal on the co-pilot's side of the cockpit collapsed, and the instructor pilot lost control of the airplane. Examination of the rudder pedal assembly failed to disclose a component failure. According to the maintenance inspector, the locking assembly was re-engaged and the rudder assembly operated normally. The inspector concluded that, heavy braking caused the locking assembly to flex enough to release. The maintenance inspector also stated that there had been a few malfunctions of the locking assembly. Those incidents reported by missionary pilots were corrected by disabling the stow assembly, and locking the pedals in the upright position.
Factual narrative
On November 3, 1994, at 1500 eastern standard time, a Cessna 185, N6688H, went off the right side of runway 24 during an attempted landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport, Elizabethton, Tennessee. The instructional flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91, with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the instructor pilot and three other pilots were not injured. The flight departed Elizabethton at 1300 hours.
According to the certified flight instructor, he and three other private pilots were conducting routine training when he lost control of the airplane during a landing attempt. The airplane had rolled 500 feet when the left pedal collapsed. The airplane veered off the right side of runway and collided with the ground. A preliminary examination of the airplane disclosed that the instructor's left pedal unlocked and collapsed.
Examination of the rudder pedal assembly failed to disclose any failed components. The examination disclosed some deformation to the locking assembly. The steering and braking systems operated normally, after the pedal assembly was restored to the normal operational position. The company maintenance inspector concluded that heavy braking caused the locking components to flex enough to collapse the left pedal assembly. The company maintenance inspector stated that rudder pedal malfunctions experienced by mission pilots were corrected by disabling the stow feature.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6688H
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 185-03335
- Airframe hours
- 2,694
- Engine
- Continental IO-520D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Moody Bible Institute
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 7, 1994 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- 0A9
- Airport
- 0A9 · Elizabethton Municipal, runway 24, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,692 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 14,000 as pilot in command · 159 in the last 90 days · 43 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRI, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.