Skip to content

ERA23LA002

2022-10-02 · Murray, Kentucky, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CEY

Current FAA registration · N3005E

Make / Model
AERONCA 7AC
Year of manufacture
1946 · 76 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES (85 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3225E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

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

Factual narrative

The airplane had been in maintenance for repair work on the airplane’s tail section. On the first flight after the completed work, following a preflight inspection and engine run-up, the pilot taxied the airplane to the runway for departure. During the takeoff roll, when the pilot applied forward stick controls to raise the tail, the tail did not rise, and the airplane instead “shot straight up, stalled, then descended nose-first onto the runway.” Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the fuselage. The inspector also noted that the elevator control cables were installed incorrectly such that the elevator moved in the direction opposite to that commanded. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Elevator control system-Incorrect service/maintenance
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Elevator control system-Inadequate inspection
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Maintenance-Replacement-Maintenance personnel
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Post maintenance inspection-Maintenance personnel
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA23LA002.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, maintenance). All research papers