Extra Flugzeugproduktions-Und EA 300/L N763DT

Summary

On 26 October 2014 at about 18:30 local time, a Extra Flugzeugproduktions-Und EA 300/L registered N763DT, operated by Sky Combat Ace, was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. 2 people were 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.

Date

26 October 2014 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Mc Carran International (LAS)

Coordinates

36.0800, -115.1522

Aircraft

Extra Flugzeugproduktions-Und EA 300/L

Registration

N763DT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Sky Combat Ace

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Henderson → Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15LA024

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the rudder cable due to tension overstress as a result of the cable’s strength being compromised by wear damage, which resulted in the flight instructor’s inability to maintain directional control during the landing roll. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was conducting an aerobatic demonstration flight for a pilot-rated passenger, during which the flight instructor was demonstrating the airplane's characteristics to the pilot. The flight instructor reported that he performed a spin maneuver, and during the recovery, he felt the tension in the rudder pedal become completely slack. The pedal moved completely forward, and he realized that the rudder cable must have separated. During the subsequent emergency landing at a nearby airport, the flight instructor could not maintain directional control, and the airplane slid off the right side of the runway. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the rudder cable had separated. The rudder cable showed signatures indicative of a failure due to tension overstress. Several of the wire strands on the cable were damaged by rubbing wear and were either completely worn through or nearly worn through, compromising the cross-section of the cable. The Federal Aviation Administration had issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) for this airplane about 3 years before the accident to address similar rudder cable failures. The SAIB recommended that, to mitigate risk, cable inspections should be completed and a protective hose should be installed. A review of the maintenance logbooks found no record indicating that the SAIB had been implemented, and no protective hose was found. The SAIB was not mandatory, and the operator, which operated flights for paying passengers, including aerobatics and air combat demonstrations, chose not to the comply with it. If the operator had chosen to comply with the SAIB, the rudder cable may not have failed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.