- Date
- November 21, 1991, 21:40 local (Nov 22, 1991, 02:40 UTC)
- Place
- Lantana, FL
- Injuries
- 3 minor, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9783UGrumman AA-1C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911121053489A
- Case key
- 33033
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 improper maintenance assembly and inspection of the throttle linkage which resulted in the throttle linkage becoming disconnected in flight and subsequent loss of engine power.
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
During cruise flight, engine power dropped to 1200 RPM and could not be restored. During a forced landing on a city street at night the aircraft collided with two vehicles. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed the nut which attaches the throttle linkage to the carburetor was missing and the throttle linkage had become disconnected. The engine had been overhauled 20 flight hours before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9783U
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-1C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1C0121
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gluck, Brion
- Registered owner
- Merkle Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 1991 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- BCT · Boca Raton, FL
- Destination
- LNA · Lantana, FL
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,531 total · 392 in this make and model · 1,204 as pilot in command · 319 in the last 90 days · 176 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 140° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 15 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.