Piper PA-32R-301T N4184X

Summary

On 1 August 2010 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T registered N4184X, operated by South Central Logistics LLC, was involved in an incident near Mount Pleasant, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2010 at 17:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Mount Pleasant, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Mt Pleasant Regional Airport (OSA)

Coordinates

33.1603, -94.9709

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301T

Registration

N4184X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

South Central Logistics LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gilmer → Mount Pleasant

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10IA453

Nobody was injured.

The failure of an aileron control cable due to a seized idler pulley bearing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was in level flight with the autopilot engaged when the airplane began an uncommanded roll. The pilot disengaged the autopilot and found that the airplane’s ailerons were inoperative. The pilot made a successful landing using the rudder for directional and roll control. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right aileron primary control cable was severed where it contacted an idler pulley. That pulley would not rotate due to an out-of-tolerance idler pulley outer bearing that restricted the rotation of the pulley. It is likely that the control cable sliding against the seized pulley caused the cable to wear through. The airplane manufacturer issued a maintenance alert following this incident that highlighted the importance of proper and recurring inspections of the flight control cables and pulleys.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.