Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL N5489H

Summary

On 10 May 2021 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL registered N5489H was involved in an accident near Gakona, Alaska, 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

10 May 2021 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Gakona, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.2887, -145.2914

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-105 SPECIAL

Registration

N5489H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1950

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC21LA040

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to initiate a flight with a failed mixture control cable which resulted in a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, the mixture control had been "working really hard" during the initial flight, so he landed at a remote site to investigate. Once on the ground, he found that the mixture control cable, just behind the instrument panel, had failed. He manually opened the mixture control lever and departed for his destination airport. While en route, at about 700 ft above ground level the engine lost all power. He made an emergency off-airport landing to a heavily forested area and the airplane impacted several small to medium sized spruce trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and left lift strut. The pilot stated that after the accident, he found the mixture control arm had that the mixture control arm had become detached from his previous temporary repair, and it was in the closed position. Additionally, he noted that he made a poor decision to fly the airplane with a failed mixture control cable.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.