Maule M-4-210C N51463
16 April 2001 · Bonners Ferry, Idaho, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 16 April 2001 at about 20:00 local time, a Maule M-4-210C registered N51463 was involved in an accident near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 20:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Bonners Ferry, Idaho, United States
- Nearest airport
- Boundary County (65S)
- Coordinates
- 48.7500, -116.5107
- Aircraft
- Maule M-4-210C
- Registration
- N51463
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Bonners Ferry → Sandpoint
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA01LA072
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Probable cause
Inadequate preflight inspection/preparation of the aircraft by the pilot and consequent foreign object fouling of the rudder control, rendering directional control impossible. A factor was the pilot's distraction/preoccupation with personal problems.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that his wife had told him she wanted a divorce the day before the accident, and stated: "I believe now I was not prepared to taxi the aircraft, lack of concentration due to stress [sic]." The pilot stated that he applied power, the tail went up, and the aircraft started drifting left. He stated that he then tried to apply right rudder, but "I had left a small cockpit electric heater on [the] floor by [the] rudder pedals, which moved forward [and] locked up [the] rudder pedals." He reported that he was unable to correct the drift and that he then "chopped power" and applied brakes. However, the aircraft went off the left side of the runway, collapsing the right main landing gear and damaging a wing. The pilot indicated on his NTSB accident report that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Maule M-4 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Jul 2000 | Maule M-4-210C | Chickaloon, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Nov 2002 | Maule M-4-210 | Creede, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 31 Mar 2000 | Maule M-4-220C | Lincoln Park, New Jersey, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 May 2000 | Maule M-4-220C | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 May 2002 | Maule M-4-210C | Reno, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Feb 1999 | Maule M-4-220C | Prescott, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 2001 | Schweizer 269D | Nampa, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 May 2001 | De Havilland DHC-6-300 | Star, Idaho, United States | Bureau of Land Management | No injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 2001 | Cessna 150 | Blackfoot, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Nov 2001 | Cessna A185F | Lucile, Idaho, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 14 Nov 2001 | Bölkow BO 105 LS | Mud Lake, Idaho, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 May 2001 | Cessna 182P | Salmon, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |