- Date
- August 26, 2016, 08:50 local (13:50 UTC)
- Place
- Wichita Falls, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N15MDBeech 58
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Flight control sys malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20160826020449A
- Case key
- 93969
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 incorrect maintenance of the airplane's ventilation system which resulted in an obstruction of the elevator control system.
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, during a maintenance test flight, when the airplane reached rotation speed on takeoff, he applied elevator control to rotate. The elevator control could not be moved sufficiently aft for rotation and liftoff, and the pilot aborted the takeoff. During the aborted takeoff, the airplane travelled off the departure end of the runway and came to a stop on an airport access road. The airplane's left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing was bent during the accident. The pilot reported that he had performed a control system check prior to the flight and that the controls functioned normally during that check. Examination of the airplane revealed that the elevator control operated normally after the accident, but further examination revealed that a plastic elbow fitting for the windshield defroster duct was loose and could be rotated into a position that obstructed full motion of the control yoke. Examination of the elbow revealed that it was not an approved part and appeared to be the type of plastic elbow found in home supply stores. The recent maintenance performed was not in the area where the plastic elbow was located.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, during a maintenance test flight, when the airplane reached rotation speed on takeoff, he applied elevator control to rotate. The elevator control could not be moved sufficiently aft for rotation and liftoff, and the pilot aborted the takeoff. During the aborted takeoff, the airplane travelled off the departure end of the runway and came to a stop on an airport access road. The airplane's left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing was bent during the accident. The pilot reported that he had performed a control system check prior to the flight and that the controls functioned normally during that check. Examination of the airplane revealed that the elevator control operated normally after the accident, but further examination revealed that a plastic elbow fitting for the windshield defroster duct was loose and could be rotated into a position that obstructed full motion of the control yoke. Examination of the elbow revealed that it was not an approved part and appeared to be the type of plastic elbow found in home supply stores. The recent maintenance performed was not in the area where the plastic elbow was located.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N15MD
- Reported as
- Beech 58 (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TH-441
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 7,676
- Engines
- Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocatingCont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Operator
- Cobra Kai Flight Academy
- Registered owner
- Cobra Kai, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 4, 2016
- Departed
- CWC · Wichita Falls, TX
- Destination
- CWC · Wichita Falls, TX
- Airport
- CWC · Kickapoo Downtown, runway 17, 4,450 × 75 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,507 total · 423 in this make and model · 4,004 as pilot in command · 130 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- CWC
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 25, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.1 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.