George A Thiel JUST AIRCRAFT HIGHLA N488VG

Summary

On 21 September 2021 at about 21:00 local time, a George A Thiel JUST AIRCRAFT HIGHLA registered N488VG was involved in an accident near Monroe, Washington, 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

21 September 2021 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Monroe, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.8400, -121.9799

Aircraft

George A Thiel JUST AIRCRAFT HIGHLA

Registration

N488VG

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA351

Nobody was injured.

The in-flight malfunction of the throttle control pivot arm, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and the subsequent collision with terrain during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the experimental amateur built airplane reported that, after descending to a local river, he increased the throttle to add power and level off, but the engine did not respond. The engine lost total power, and he attempted an in-flight engine restart to no avail. The pilot initiated a landing to a nearby island in the river, however, during the landing, the airplane’s airspeed was fast, and braking was ineffective. The pilot turned the airplane to the right toward vegetation and subsequently impacted a sandbank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing and the empennage. A postaccident examination of the throttle control linkage revealed that the throttle control had separated at the throttle control pivot arm. The bolt, washer and nut which secured the cable to the throttle control pivot arm had backed out and were not located during the examination. Additionally, a bolt, bushing binding and nut were used to secure the throttle control pivot arm to a cross-member located between the throttle control cable and the carburetor cable binding. The return spring is designed to open the throttle to the fully open throttle position when the throttle control malfunctions. The torque on the nut that secured the pivot arm to the cross-member was excessive and consequently prevented the pivot arm from allowing the return spring to open the throttle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.