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| Date: | Thursday 15 April 2021 |
| Time: | c. 16:30 |
| Type: |  Piper J3C-65 Cub |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N50601 |
| MSN: | 10277 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Epse, Gelderland -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Teuge Airport (EHTE) |
| Teuge Airport (EHTE) | |
| Investigating agency: | Dutch Safety Board |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During a local flight from Teuge Airport at approximately 3,000 feet, the aileron flight control cable came loose, resulting in loss of aileron control. The pilot noticed that the left aileron was in a downward position, causing a continuous roll tendency to the right. The pilot maintained directional control by rudder input. During reducing speed on final for an emergency landing in a meadow, the pilot could no longer maintain directional control. The aircraft changed course to the right, its right wing hit a tree and subsequently crashed in an arable field, near the village Epse. The pilot suffered no injuries but his clothing was soaked with fuel. The aircraft was heavily damaged, the right wing was destroyed and broke off during the collision with the tree.
Because of the broken cable, the downward position of the left aileron could not be counteracted by a left aileron input. The cause of the downward position of the aileron could not be determined. Most probably it was caused by the broken aileron cable that got stuck.
The aircraft has two aileron cables, one for the right and one for the left aileron. The cables run via guides and cable pulleys along the wings struts into the fuselage and are connected to the torque tube, which holds the control sticks. The ailerons are interconnected by a cable through the wings, making the aileron control system a closed loop.
Investigation of the left aileron cable revealed that the thimble-eye (cable eye) at the torque tube position came loose, as a result of slipping of the cable through the sleeve. The sleeves used for the aileron cables where not of the prescribed type. The other flight control cables in the aircraft were fitted with the correct sleeves.
Based a test it was concluded that the cable strength did not meet the prescribed value and that it was possible to obtain sufficient restraint with the incorrect sleeve to keep the cable eye in place at a value of 7,100 Newton, which is about 70 % of 2,300 Pounds. As the sleeve of the aileron cable came loose during flight, it was concluded that the (incorrect) sleeve was incorrectly fitted with, as a result, not enough restraint tension. As a result the cable could slide through the sleeve, resulting in loss of aileron control.
The pilot bought the aircraft from a company outside of the Netherlands in June 2020. Till the day of the accident the aircraft had flown 60 hours and 35 minutes after the last 100 hours inspection, during which the incorrect sleeves were not detected. Till the accident, 6 hours and 10 minutes were flown since the last 50 hours inspection on 19 March 2021.
note: aircraft carries registration NC50601 but is official registered by the FAA as N50601
Sources:
https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/media/inline/2022/9/7/quarterly_aviation_report_q2_2022.pdf
https://www.omroepgelderland.nl/nieuws/6861003/Vliegtuigje-stort-neer-in-weiland-in-Epse-piloot-loopt-naar-ambulance
https://www.destentor.nl/lochem/sportvliegtuig-stort-neer-op-akker-bij-epse-een-inzittende-wordt-behandeld~a99f2b04/
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=50601
https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/page/18771/noodlanding-na-besturingsproblemen-piper-j3c-epse
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n50601#27687b7e
https://www.airhistory.net/photos/0269655
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Apr-2021 15:59 | harro | Added |
| 15-Apr-2021 16:01 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Embed code] |
| 15-Apr-2021 16:05 | harro | Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 15-Apr-2021 16:09 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 15-Apr-2021 16:45 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Apr-2021 23:36 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Destination airport, Source] |
| 29-Apr-2021 07:48 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Jun-2022 01:41 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 08-Sep-2022 08:23 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Sep-2022 08:26 | harro | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
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