Accident Cessna Ector 305A Mountaineer N65070,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 233164
 
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Date:Saturday 22 February 2020
Time:09:20
Type:Silhouette image of generic O1 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna Ector 305A Mountaineer
Owner/operator:Honolulu Soaring Club Inc
Registration: N65070
MSN: 2035
Year of manufacture:1979
Engine model:Continental O-470
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Dillingham Airfield, Oahu, HI -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH)
Destination airport:Oahu-Dillingham Airfield, HI (HDH/PHDH)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The flight instructor was providing familiarization training to the airline transport pilot in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. Witnesses saw the airplane land hard; the pilots shut down the engine on the runway, the instructor got out and inspected the airplane, then boarded the airplane again and the pilots subsequently departed. The witnesses stated that, upon becoming airborne, the airplane entered significant right yaw over the runway. The airplane continued to the right and subsequently impacted terrain about 1,000 ft from the runway.

Examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airframe revealed that the left rudder cable was separated at the rudder pulley area behind the rear seat floor and displayed a combination of severely frayed and fractured strands with tension overload signatures. There was evidence of cable abrasions and rubbing in the area of the pulley bracket. A detailed examination of the cable fractures revealed that only 16 of the 133 total wires that comprised the cable were intact before they failed in overload, resulting in cable separation. The remainder of the cable strand wires were either degraded, shortened, or bent, indicative of abnormal cable contact and abrasion. Although the aileron and elevator control cables were continuous or displayed indications of overload separation due to impact, all of the cables exhibited areas of fraying and extensive wear.

The most recent documented maintenance was a 100-hour inspection completed 5 months before the accident. The mechanic who had been responsible for maintaining the airplane for the previous 2 years stated that he cleaned, inspected, and lubricated the flight control cables during the inspection; however, the debris in the under-floor compartment, excessive black grease deposits, significant wear and fractured wires of each control cable were indicative of wear that had occurred over a period of time that should have been observed and rectified during previous inspections.

Based on witness statements and examination of the wreckage, the pilots experienced a loss of yaw control after takeoff due to an overload separation of the left rudder cable and were unable to regain adequate control to land safely. Although when the separation occurred could not be determined, it is possible that the hard landing just before the accident takeoff may have caused the already degraded rudder cable to be displaced and encounter excessive stress loads in the pulley area.

Probable Cause: A separation of the left rudder cable due to inadequate maintenance, which resulted in an in-flight loss of control and impact with terrain.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ANC20FA024
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years
Download report: Final report

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/hawaii/articles/2020-02-22/1-dead-in-hawaii-plane-crash-at-dillingham-airfield
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/02/22/breaking-news/officials-responding-to-report-of-downed-aircraft-at-dillingham-airfield/
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hfd-one-person-dead-in-plane-crash-in-dillingham-airfield-area/

NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=65070
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/58299_1536706459.jpg (photo)

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
7 November 2013 N65070 Honolulu Soaring Club Inc 0 Dillingham Airfield, Oahu, HI sub

Location

Images:



Photos: NTSB

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
22-Feb-2020 21:09 Geno Added
22-Feb-2020 21:17 Geno Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
22-Feb-2020 23:17 RobertMB Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative]
23-Feb-2020 00:00 Iceman 29 Updated [Source, Narrative]
23-Feb-2020 07:45 harro Updated [Aircraft type]
23-Feb-2020 09:58 RobertMB Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative]
23-Feb-2020 10:18 RobertMB Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative]
23-Feb-2020 16:48 Iceman 29 Updated [Source, Embed code]
23-Feb-2020 19:58 harro Updated [Source]
23-Feb-2020 21:22 Captain Adam Updated [Location, Narrative]
19-Jun-2021 19:40 aaronwk Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Mar-2022 12:03 Captain Adam Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo]
18-Mar-2022 12:05 Captain Adam Updated [Photo]
08-Jun-2023 21:33 Ron Averes Updated [[Photo]]

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