Weber RV-4 N1142J

Summary

On 4 July 1997 at about 19:07 local time, a Weber RV-4 registered N1142J was involved in an accident near Hermann, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 1997 at 19:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Hermann, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip

Coordinates

38.6901, -91.4295

Aircraft

Weber RV-4

Registration

N1142J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Celina → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA201

1 person was seriously injured.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision and encounter with a stall. Related factors were the chafed throttle cable, which became jammed; and failure of the pilot to perform an engine shut down in order to land on the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the third final approach to land the airplane on a hilly turf runway, the pilot discovered that the throttle cable had jammed at a reduced power setting. The jammed throttle prevented him from either reducing power to land or from applying full power to go around. The pilot successfully flew past power lines and poles before initiating a turn to avoid timber on a ridge, but was unable to clear rising terrain due to inadequate power for the climb. He said that he stalled the wings prior to impact with terrain. The pilot said things happened so fast on final that he did not have time to think about shutting off the engine. The airplane impacted in a steep hay meadow approximately 50 feet above the highest point on the runway. Investigators found the throttle cable jammed due to broken strands of cable inside the sheath. The throttle cable, which had been salvaged from another airplane, showed extensive chafing at several places on the sheath from the previous installation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.