Murch ROTEC RALLY 3 N317RE
24 July 2003 · Searcy, Arkansas, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 24 July 2003 at about 14:30 local time, a Murch ROTEC RALLY 3 registered N317RE was involved in an accident near Searcy, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. 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 14:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Searcy, Arkansas, United States
- Nearest airport
- Searcy Muni (SRC)
- Coordinates
- 35.2393, -91.7310
- Aircraft
- Murch ROTEC RALLY 3
- Registration
- N317RE
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Searcy → Searcy
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CHI03LA230
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The frayed rudder cable that failed during the turn to final. A factor was the ditch the airplane encountered during the forced landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The experimental amateur-built airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following an in-flight rudder cable failure. The pilot stated, " As I made my turn south (Final) applying right rudder the right rudder cable broke. Because of pressure being applied to both rudder pedals I inadvertently applied left rudder causing the aircraft to go into a death spiral. I applied full right [ailerons] but continued to spiral after three to five rotations I used basic spin recovery and was able to level the aircraft and maintain minimal control at about 250 ft [above ground level]. I landed in an empty lot which was not quite long enough for roll out and came to rest in a ditch ... ." Examination of the failed cable revealed the ends of the separation were frayed.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jul 2003 | Cessna A188B | McGehee, Arkansas, United States | Alan Buford | No injuries | - |
| 28 Sep 2003 | Cessna 150L | Siloam Springs, Arkansas, United States | Plane Krazy Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 21 Mar 2003 | Cessna 182S | Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 Jul 2003 | Mikoyan MIG-15BIS | Little Rock, Arkansas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 2003 | Bell TH-13T | Light, Arkansas, United States | Songer, Harvey | Serious injuries | - |
| 19 Aug 2003 | Ayres S2R-T660 | Blytheville, Arkansas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |