- Date
- March 25, 2026, 16:51 local (20:51 UTC)
- Place
- Block Island, RI · off airfield
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7081HPiper PA-32-260
- Defining event
- Landing: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20260325005629A
- Case key
- 202712
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
Maintenance personnel’s failure to ensure that the throttle cable was properly secured to the carburetor, which resulted an inflight separation of the throttle cable and the pilots’ inability to control the engine.
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 pilots reported that they were unable to change engine power via the throttle while attempting to land, which resulted in an off-airport landing. During the landing the airplane’s left wing was substantially damaged. One of the pilots described that this was the second flight of the airplane after it had undergone extensive maintenance, which included installing a newly overhauled engine and an annual inspection. Postaccident examination of the engine found the hardware used to connect the throttle cable to the carburetor was missing. A review of maintenance records revealed that the throttle control was rigged during the annual inspection. The mechanic who signed off the annual inspection said that he and several other mechanics had conducted extensive maintenance on the airplane, and they had most likely forgotten to install the cotter pin that would have secured the throttle cable to the carburetor. Given this information, it is likely that the throttle cable detached from the carburetor during the flight, which resulted in the the pilots being unable to control engine power, and the subsequent off airport landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7081H
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7100028
- Built
- 1971
- Airframe hours
- 1,340.3
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 2026 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- CQX · Chatham, MA
- Destination
- BID · Block Island, RI
- Airport
- BID · Block Island State
- Equipment
- ADS-B, 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 30
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 10, 2026
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 3,820 total · 73 in this make and model · 2,654 as pilot in command · 156 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 30, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 215 total · 113 in this make and model · 131 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.33 inHg
- Observed at
- KBID, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBID 251956Z AUTO 20010KT 10SM CLR 06/M01 A3033 RMK AO2 SLP272 T00561011 PNO $
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.6 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.