Grumman American Avn AA5A N26387

Summary

On 4 July 2023 at about 19:07 local time, a Grumman American Avn AA5A registered N26387 was involved in an accident near Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, 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

4 July 2023 at 19:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

34.6101, -86.6677

Aircraft

Grumman American Avn AA5A

Registration

N26387

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hazel Green → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA286

Nobody was injured.

The separation of the clamp assembly securing the throttle control cable outer housing, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to control the throttle.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff the pilot performed a practice RNAV approach, then climbed to 3,500 ft mean sea level en route to another airport. While at altitude the pilot attempted to adjust the engine power settings, but the engine power “went to low power and was not responding to throttle control inputs.” He declared an emergency and after realizing that the flight was unable to reach a nearby airport, he selected a nearby field with a paved road. After landing on the road, he applied maximum braking, but the left wing impacted a metal pole, resulting in substantial damage to the leading edge of the wing. Postaccident inspection of the engine compartment revealed the throttle control cable assembly remained attached to the throttle control lever of the fuel injection servo, but the outer cable assembly was not secured in the engine compartment. Thus, movement of the throttle control in the cockpit did not result in movement of the throttle control lever. A clamp, shim, two screws, and two metal self-locking nuts that secured the outer cable assembly were not located, but a washer was found loose in the engine compartment. The throttle cable was replaced at the airplane’s last annual inspection 8 months earlier; the airplane had been operated for about 15 hours since the annual inspection. Although it is unlikely that the screws used to secure the cable would have sheared or failed, they were not located. Thus, the reason for the outer cable clamping hardware to separate could not be determined from the available evidence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.