Piper PA-32-260 N7081H

Summary

On 25 March 2026 at about 20:51 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N7081H was involved in an accident near Block Island, Rhode Island, United States. 2 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

25 March 2026 at 20:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Block Island, Rhode Island, United States

Nearest airport

Block Island State (BID)

Coordinates

41.1647, -71.5897

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N7081H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chatham → Block Island

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA151

2 people had minor injuries.

Maintenance personnel’s failure to ensure that the throttle cable was properly secured to the carburetor, which resulted an inflight separation of the throttle cable and the pilots’ inability to control the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots reported that they were unable to change engine power via the throttle while attempting to land, which resulted in an off-airport landing. During the landing the airplane’s left wing was substantially damaged. One of the pilots described that this was the second flight of the airplane after it had undergone extensive maintenance, which included installing a newly overhauled engine and an annual inspection. Postaccident examination of the engine found the hardware used to connect the throttle cable to the carburetor was missing. A review of maintenance records revealed that the throttle control was rigged during the annual inspection. The mechanic who signed off the annual inspection said that he and several other mechanics had conducted extensive maintenance on the airplane, and they had most likely forgotten to install the cotter pin that would have secured the throttle cable to the carburetor. Given this information, it is likely that the throttle cable detached from the carburetor during the flight, which resulted in the the pilots being unable to control engine power, and the subsequent off airport landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.