Beechcraft 400 N95GK

Summary

On 14 February 2024 at about 20:10 local time, a Beechcraft 400 registered N95GK, operated by Pdii LLC, was involved in an accident near Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. 9 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 February 2024 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Bentonville, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thad (VBT)

Coordinates

36.3399, -94.2194

Aircraft

Beechcraft 400

Registration

N95GK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1991

Engines

2

Operator

Pdii LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Concord

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA115

2 people had minor injuries.

Improper rigging of the elevator cable over the upper guard pin, which resulted in a cable separation and loss of elevator control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff the pilot pulled the airplane’s control yoke aft to rotate and the airplane lifted off the runway as normal. The nose of the airplane dropped, and the pilot applied additional backpressure on the yoke. The pilot reported he felt a “snap” followed by a lack of tension on the control yoke. The airplane pitched down and settled back on the runway. The pilot applied maximum braking and full thrust reverse; however, the airplane continued off the end of the runway. The pilot applied left rudder and brake to turn the airplane to avoid contacting a gas station. The landing gear collapsed during the turn, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing when it struck the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the elevator control cable was fractured at a pulley bracket near the aft portion of the fuselage where the cable transitioned from a horizontal to a vertical orientation. A metallurgical examination found nearly all the wires of the cable had rubbing damage to varying extents around the sides of the wires near the fracture. The upper guard pin exhibited wear, scratch marks, and gouges. The pulley contained several isolated wire fragments. The damage on the cable, upper guard pin on the pulley, and the pulley assembly was consistent with the cable having been improperly routed on the wrong side of the upper guard pin. Over time, the cable likely rubbed against the upper guard pin until the cable was sufficiently damaged to produce failure under normal operating loads. A review of the maintenance logbook entries found that the elevator cable was replaced about a year before the accident and that the airplane flew about 316.5 hours before the cable separated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.