The Aeronca 7AC had been in maintenance for repair work on the airplane’s tail section.
On the first flight after the completed work, following a preflight inspection and engine run-up, the pilot taxied the airplane to the runway at the airport in Murray, Kentucky, for departure.
During the takeoff roll, when the pilot applied forward stick controls to raise the tail, the tail did not rise, and the airplane instead “shot straight up, stalled, then descended nose-first onto the runway.”
Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed substantial damage to the fuselage.
The inspector also noted that the elevator control cables were installed incorrectly such that the elevator moved in the direction opposite to that commanded.
The pilot sustained serious injuries in the crash.
Probable Cause: The incorrect (reverse) rigging of the elevator cables by maintenance personnel and their subsequent failure to verify that the rigging was correct during post-maintenance checks and the pilot’s inadequate preflight check.
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This October 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
What has happened to basic cockpit drills …….full, free & correct movement – part of pre-takeoff checks ? These checks were drummed into us as student pilots 65+ years ago ……because you just never who may have done something to the aircraft since last time you flew this aircraft. Do modern pilots ignore checks or they just not taught today ? Paul. ..& still flying.
When the sun was in the right position to cast a shadow from the tail of the Boeing 777 forward as I taxied for takeoff, I could never resist the urge to cycle the pedals and watch for the correct result in the shadow of the rudder itself.
A friend of mine was a jet fighter pilot in the USMC and a Commercial Pilot for many years. I talk to him about these unfortunate accidents that I read about hear and most of the time he has one word to say “BASICS”.
The Champ does not have balanced controls. At rest, the weight of the elevator will push the stick full forward. Instead, the stick would have been full aft at rest. Next to impossible to miss.
The cables cross in the aft fuselage. That’s easy to miss during assembly. But failing to notice the stick position or direction of motion is about as fundamental as it gets for both the mechanic and the pilot. But yet it continues to happen on occasion.
He said “I performed my usual elevator check of looking back at the elevator while moving the stick through its full range fore and aft. As for correctness of movement direction, I obviously saw incorrectly what my mind was expecting to see”. After 55 years of flying, a mistake. Expectation bias is a scary reality especially as they say the longer we fly.
I think one of your Presidents said. ” Trust but verify” I think it was Ronnie.
I don’t understand how both, the mechanic and the owner/pilot did not notice the elevator cables reversed ? If I remove two of something, I make sure to mark both as to where they go, so they don’t get switched…
Sad, so now a severely damaged aircraft, and an injured pilot.
This is an accident that was absolutely avoidable and should not have happened.
Whatever happened to “Ensure controls are free AND CORRECT”? Something both the mechanic and pilot should have checked before flight.
Read the report. The pilot did check, but confused the elevator positions thinking the elevator was moving correctly inaccordance to the movement of the stick.
To me, it takes two people to do part of the inspections of a plane that has undergone all these repairs. In the case that you can not clearly see the rudder or elevators/stabliator, you need a second person to confirm correct movement. And they need to know that stick/yoke back is elevators/stabilator pushing down (to lift nose), yoke/stick forward is stabliator/elevator pushing up (to force nose down). This should be done as well by the IA doing the annual before sign-off.