Cambridge, OH, USA
N6790
Montgomery Teenie Two
The pilot had been performing maintenance on his experimental airplane. While on a local maintenance test flight, the engine retarded to idle. The pilot was unable to increase power, and performed a forced landing in a field with tall grass. During the landing, the airplane nosed over. The FAA reported that the throttle cable had become disconnected from the carburetor which allowed the engine to return to idle. The cable showed evidence of sliding and the set screw did not appear to be tight.
On July 27, 2001, at 1918 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Teenie Two, N6790, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Cambridge, Ohio. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the an interview of the pilot conducted by the Ohio State Police, the pilot reported that he had built the airplane in the early 1970s. He had performed work on the carburetor and departed Cambridge between 1845 and 1900. While flying, the engine went to idle, and the throttle had no affect. Further, the pilot reported that the airplane stalled, and he believed the left wing struck the ground. A witness reported that he: "...saw the little yellow plane go over. He circled back and came over the house. He came over real low and went over the trees, sinking. It didn't sound like its motor was running or anything. He went down in the field and I heard a boom...." The witness traveled to the accident site and found the pilot still strapped in the airplane. A call was placed to 911, and emergency personnel arrived and extracted the pilot who was taken to a local hospital. The airplane was examined by an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who reported: "...Investigation revealed that the throttle cable became disconnected from the engine carburetor allowing the engine to return to idle rpm...The throttle cable was attached to the carburetor throttle by the cable sliding into a drilled hole in the linkage and secured with a small set screw and safety lock nut. The cable showed evidence of sliding out of the linkage and the set screw did not appear tight...." Further, the FAA inspector reported that while the pilot was on a maintenance test flight, the engine lost power and he performed a forced landing in a field with shoulder high grass. The airplane came to rest upside down. According to FAA records, the pilot's last application for an FAA airman medical certificate was dated August 30, 1993, at which time he reported a total flight experience of 520 hours. In a follow-up telephone interview, the pilot reported his total flight experience as over 600 hours, with about 500 hours in make and model. He estimated that he had flown about 2 hours in the 90 days that preceded the accident, and about 5 hours in the preceding year. According to the airplane logbook, the last entry was dated June 23, 2000.
the pilot's improper maintenance which resulted in the engine retarding to idle, and subsequent forced landing. A factor was the tall grass in the field where the forced landing was performed.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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