Christopher Norris GLASAIR III N317PS

Summary

On 4 May 2006 at about 21:28 local time, a Christopher Norris GLASAIR III registered N317PS was involved in an accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, 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.

Date

4 May 2006 at 21:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Spruce Creek Airport (7FL6)

Coordinates

29.0803, -81.0467

Aircraft

Christopher Norris GLASAIR III

Registration

N317PS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Daytona Beach → Port Orange

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA06LA104

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed while turning towards the runway after experiencing a partial loss of engine power, resulting in an uncontrolled descent, and in-flight collision with the runway. A factor in the accident was the failure of maintenance personnel to properly secure the throttle control lever at the servo fuel injector following maintenance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in the traffic pattern between the downwind and base legs, the engine quit. The pilot turned towards the runway, and while turning to line up onto final approach, the airplane experienced an accelerated stall. The pilot recovered to a wings level attitude but the airplane impacted the runway in a nose-low attitude. Examination of the engine revealed the throttle control arm at the servo fuel injector (fuel servo) was not secured to the throttle shaft, which prevented movement of the throttle shaft with movement of the throttle control. A cotter pin was not installed to secure the castellated nut which secures the throttle arm to the throttle shaft. The mechanic who recently installed the fuel servo failed to install the cotter pin. An additional discrepancy noted was that the left magneto was inoperative.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.