Rockwell International 114 N5832N incident near Lapeer, Michigan

Probable cause

The malfunction of the pilot’s seat-latching mechanism due to a bent rod, which allowed the seat to come loose and slide full aft and resulted in a temporary loss of airplane control.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a postmaintenance test flight with the owner acting as copilot. During the landing roll, the pilot's seat came loose and slid full aft. The right wing came up while the pilot's hand was still on the flight controls. He instructed the copilot to take the controls and keep the airplane on the runway. The left wingtip and aileron sustained minor damage during the incident sequence; however, the damage was not discovered until 3 weeks after the incident. An examination of the seat-latching mechanism revealed that the metal rod that locked the seat in place was bent. When aft pressure was applied to the seat, the bent rod released from the latch hole in the seat track, which allowed the seat to slide.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13IA355 for the full record.