- Date
- March 6, 2015, 11:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Leonard, OK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N81194Funk B85C
- Defining event
- Enroute: Flight control sys malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20150306003759A
- Case key
- 90841
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 improper installation of the UP elevator cable turnbuckle which became disconnected during the flight.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was flying about 700 feet above the ground in cruise flight when he felt the control stick "pop" and the nose of the airplane pitch down. The pilot pulled back the throttle and turned off the magnetos. The passenger adjusted the elevator trim; however, the pitch attitude did not change. The pilot then entered a side slip which brought the nose up to level. He straightened the nose of the airplane just prior to it impacting the terrain. The airplane subsequently flipped inverted resulting in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the UP elevator turnbuckle became detached at the elevator torque tube. The turnbuckle was not safety wired. New cables were installed in the airplane in 2007 and the turnbuckle most likely loosened over time.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was flying about 700 feet above the ground in cruise flight when he felt the control stick "pop" and the nose of the airplane pitch down. The pilot pulled back the throttle and turned off the magnetos. The passenger adjusted the elevator trim; however, the pitch attitude did not change. The pilot then entered a side slip which brought the nose up to level. He straightened the nose of the airplane just prior to it impacting the terrain. The airplane subsequently flipped inverted resulting in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the UP elevator turnbuckle became detached at the elevator torque tube. The turnbuckle was not safety wired. New cables were installed in the airplane in 2007.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81194
- Reported as
- Funk B85C (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 326
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 2,196.2
- Engine
- Continental C85, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 10, 2014 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- RVS · Tulsa, OK
- Destination
- RVS · Tulsa, OK
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
- 19
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 9, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 140.8 total · 25.1 in this make and model · 108.4 as pilot in command · 76 in the last 90 days · 17.6 in the last 30 days · 1.7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.48 inHg
- Observed at
- RVS, 12 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 29, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.