- Date
- May 6, 1992, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Freeland, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N71309Gillespie/Pitts S1C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920506015649A
- Case key
- 15238
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
A total failure of the rudder control cable and unavailability of rudder to control the airplane during its landing process. Factors which contributed to the accident were directional control and remedial action not being possible on behalf of the pilot.
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
The pilot of a tail wheel configured aerobatic airplane had touched down on landing and discovered the airplane did not have right rudder pedal control. The pilot stated he took off to trouble shoot the problem. During the inflight investigation he discovered the right rudder cable had separated where the cable runs through the cockpit near the right sidewall. The pilot made a cable repair so it would allow brake system operation. During the subsequent landing the airplane was not as directionally controllable as it should have been. As the airplane began to decelerate it began an uncontrollable swerve which resulted in a landing gear collapse.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N71309
- Reported as
- Gillespie/Pitts S1C
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- RJ101
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dean C. Vanzwoll
- Registered owner
- Brian E. Dawson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1991 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- 3CM · Bay City, MI
- Airport
- MBS · Tri Cities Int'L, runway 5, 8,000 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,844 total · 10 in this make and model · 1,780 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MBS, 1 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.