Piper PA-22-135 N170JH accident near Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

Probable cause

The incorrect (reverse) rigging of the elevator cables by maintenance personnel and their subsequent failure to verify that the rigging was correct during postmaintenance checks and the pilot's inadequate preflight check.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, during takeoff, he applied full throttle and that, when the airplane began to gain airspeed, he pushed the yoke forward to bring the tailwheel off the runway. The tail did not rise, and the airplane subsequently "jumped" off the runway; the pilot pushed the yoke forward again, but the airplane continued to climb. The pilot then decreased the engine power, the airplane's nose lowered, and the pilot pulled back on the yoke to arrest the descent, but the nose did not rise. The airplane continued to descend at a higher rate, and the pilot applied nose-up trim; however, the airplane subsequently impacted the runway.

Examination of the airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the accident flight was the first flight after an annual inspection had been completed and that the elevator control cables were replaced during the inspection. Examination revealed that the elevator control cables were installed incorrectly and moved the elevators in the direction opposite to that commanded: when the pilot pushed the yoke forward, the airplane climbed, and, when the pilot pulled the yoke aft, the airplane descended. It is likely that the maintenance personnel installed the flight control cables incorrectly and failed to verify that the routing from the elevator cables to the control yoke was correct during the recent annual inspection and postmaintenance check. It is also likely that the pilot failed to perform an adequate preflight check, which required the pilot to verify that all controls were in the proper position.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA14LA015 for the full record.