CEN21LA326

Immediately after takeoff, the experimental airplane experienced a rudder control malfunction, and the pilot landed back on the runway. The pilot was unable to maintain control, and the airplane departed the runway. During the runway excursion, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. A postaccident examination of the flight controls revealed that the control cable that should have been connected to the pilot’s left rudder pedal was separated at the point where it had been swaged to the end fitting. The other flight control cables were swaged in a similar manner, and all were done improperly according to the airplane kit manufacturer. There were no other anomalies noted with the airplane. The airplane was built about 3 years before the accident, and the airplane maintenance logbooks did not show any entries related to the rudder cables. Therefore, it is likely that the cables were improperly swaged during the original build of the airplane, and the error was not discovered during subsequent condition inspections.

On July 17, 2021, about 1610 central daylight time, an experimental Zenith CH 750 airplane, N9667Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Blossom, Texas. The pilot and passenger received serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector stated that shortly after takeoff from a private grass airstrip, the airplane experienced a rudder control malfunction. The pilot landed back on the airstrip, but he was unable to control the airplane, which departed the runway and came to rest on a road. During the runway excursion, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. A postaccident examination of the flight controls revealed that the control cable that should have been connected to the pilot’s left rudder pedal was separated at the point where it had been swaged to the end fitting. The other flight control cables were swaged in a similar manner, and all done improperly according to the airplane kit manufacturer. There were no other anomalies noted with the airplane. The airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the airplane received an experimental airworthiness certificate in 2018, and there were no entries related to the rudder control cables. The logbook also showed that the last condition inspection was completed on November 18, 2020, “in accordance with the scope and detail of Part 43 appendix D,” and the airplane was “determined to be in a condition for safe operation.”