# NTSB LAX96IA065: Beech 99, N134PM, Salt Lake City, UT, November 30, 1995 - Type: NTSB incident investigation - Classification: Incident · No injuries · Incident investigation · Final report - Date: November 30, 1995, 07:28 local (14:28 UTC) - Place: Salt Lake City, UT - Location: 40.7884° N, 111.9778° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SALT LAKE CITY INTL (SLC), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7884&lon=-111.9778&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 4, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 29296 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX96IA065 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/29296/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96IA065 ## Probable cause improper installation of the rudder control cable by company maintenance personnel, which resulted in chafing and/or fatigue and subsequent failure of the cable. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, climb - maintenance,installation - improper, company maintenance personnel (cause) - flt control syst,rudder control cable/rod - chafed (cause) - flt control syst,rudder control cable/rod - fatigue (cause) - flt control syst,rudder control cable/rod - failure (cause) ## Analysis The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff, he felt a sharp jolt in the rudder pedals as the landing gear was retracting; after that, the aircraft would no longer respond to left rudder pedal input. The pilot declared an emergency and made an uneventful landing. Postflight examination of the aircraft revealed that the left rudder control cable had failed in proximity of a control pulley in the aft fuselage. Examination of the two cable retaining pins on the pulley braket showed cable scrape marks at their midpoints. The cable had been installed 3 months before the incident and had accumulated 183 hours in service. Metallurgical examination of the failed cable revealed evidence that at least a portion of the strands had failed from fatigue. ## Factual narrative On November 30, 1995, at 0728 hours mountain standard time, a Beech 99, N134PM, experienced a partial loss of directional control after takeoff from Salt Lake City, Utah. The 14 CFR Part 135 cargo flight was operated by Ameriflight, Inc., Burbank, California, and was destined for Boise, Idaho. The aircraft was not damaged and the pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff he felt a sharp jolt in the rudder pedals as the landing gear was retracting, after which the aircraft would no longer respond to left rudder pedal input. The pilot declared an emergency and returned to Salt Lake City where the aircraft landed uneventfully. Postflight examination of the aircraft revealed that the left rudder control cable had separated in the control pulley radius at fuselage station 385.5. The cable (Beech Aircraft part number 115-524063) was installed 3 months prior to the incident and had accumulated 183 hours in service. Ameriflight, Inc., notified the Southwest Region office of the NTSB of the incident on December 1, 1995. At that time, the aircraft had been repaired at the operator's Salt Lake City base and returned to service. The NTSB did not inspect the aircraft until a later date when it was routed through Burbank. According to the operator, when replacing the cable, their personnel reported that the control pulley, cable retainer pins, and pulley bracket in the area of the failure showed evidence of wire brushing from the loose wire strands, but no evidence that the cable had been misrouted. The aircraft was examined by the NTSB investigator on July 11, 1996. The control cable pulley at the location where the cable failed showed no abnormal wear or misalignment, and the interior faces of the adjacent bracket had many fine wire scrape marks. The two cable retaining pins at the cable tangent points on the pulley bracket showed scrape marks at their midpoints. The failed cable sections were sent to the NTSB metallurgy laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. In his report the metallurgist segregated the failed cable ends into three groups. In the first two groups he stated consisted of failed cable ends had been 1) damaged, or 2) extensively damaged "to the extent that very little of the original fracture features remained." Of the third group, he stated "about 10 percent of the wire ends that were examined in detail contained lesser amounts of damage and at least some evidence of fatigue cracking in the form of longitudinal splits, flat fracture areas (generally with curved boundaries), or microfissures." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N134PM](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N134PM-2026-02-28), registration cancelled 2026-02-28, S/N U-34, built 1968 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech 99 - Registry model: [Beech 99](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-99) (registry code 1154002) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [U/A Canada PT6 SER 578HP](https://openairdocs.org/engine/u-a-canada-pt6-ser-578hp) (registry code 61501, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: U-34 - Airframe hours: 34246 - Engines: P&W PT6A-28 680 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: No damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Ameriflight - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, October 19, 1995, 80 hours before - Departed: SLC - Destination: BOI, BOISE, ID - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: SLC, Salt Lake City, runway 14, 5,295 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 6,254 total, 2,882 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days, 60 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 120° at 17 knots - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Incident 19951130044179I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19951130044179I), Nov 30, 1995: Beech 99, Salt Lake City, UT. Narrative: an ameriflight, BE-99, N134PM, departed Salt Lake City International Airport, UT, from runway 14 and experienced a loss of rudder control. Pilot… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.