Pitts S-1T N731FL accident near Spring, Texas

Probable cause

The failure of maintenance personnel to properly connect the throttle cable, which led to the pilot’s inability to control engine power during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s misjudgment of the headwind during the forced landing, which resulted in the airplane’s touchdown short of the runway and its impact with airport structures.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during the initial climbout, the engine did not respond to his throttle movements. The pilot turned the airplane back toward the airport and entered the downwind leg. While on the base leg, the pilot turned off the engine ignition switch and performed a forced landing. Due to a higher-than-anticipated headwind, the pilot misjudged the flight profile, and the airplane touched down short of the runway and impacted instrument landing system structures, which damaged both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage.

Postaccident examination revealed the throttle cable was disconnected from the throttle lever arm at the fuel injector/control. A loose washer was found at the bottom of the engine cowling, and the castellated nut and cotter pin required for proper installation of the throttle linkage were not located. During the last annual inspection, the throttle cable had been disconnected to perform maintenance actions. The linkage hardware was likely not secured properly after that maintenance was performed, which resulted in the separation and subsequently the engine did not to respond to the pilot’s inputs during initial climb.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA123 for the full record.