Rutherford SEAWIND 3000 N7117

Summary

On 18 June 2005 at about 22:07 local time, a Rutherford SEAWIND 3000 registered N7117 was involved in an accident near Sarasota, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 June 2005 at 22:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Sarasota, Florida, United States

Coordinates

27.3997, -82.5572

Aircraft

Rutherford SEAWIND 3000

Registration

N7117

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sarasota → Sarasota

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL05LA103

1 person died.

Maintenance personnel failure to secure throttle linkage on the carburetor which resulted in loss of engine power and a collision with a building.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The homebuilt experimental airplane was on it’s second flight after assembly when it lost engine power, struck a two story building, and collided with the ground in a field. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage, empennage, and both wings were separated. The fuselage, including the cockpit were fire damaged. The engine was rotated at the crankshaft flange and internal gear and valve train continuity was confirmed. All six cylinders produced compression. Examination of the throttle connection inside of the power plant compartment revealed the AN310 castle nut had no cotter pin installed. The nut was backed-off counterclockwise on the threaded shaft and no longer secured the lever arm to the throttle shaft. The last maintenance performed on the throttle linkage on the carburetor is unknown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.