NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA15CA294
Registry · N1785H
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
HOWARD AIRCRAFT DGA-15P
Year of manufacture
1943 · 72 years old at event
Engine
P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)
Seats / Engines
5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20150630
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A139F4
Registrant of record
KREUTZFELD JAMES E
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The separation of the elevator control system linkage at a push/pull tube and cable joint, for an unknown reason, because the bolt and associated hardware securing the joint was not found for examination.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was en route to his destination and three to four miles before reaching the runway, he lost elevator authority. The pilot used elevator trim and power settings to control pitch and descended over the runway. The pilot was able to level off over the runway and tried to get the airspeed to decrease. The airplane descended, impacted the runway, and sustained substantial damage to a wing strut. A postaccident examination by the FAA revealed the elevator control separated at a connection between the control cable and a push/pull tube. The tube and cable ends remained intact, and showed no signs of deformation or fatigue. The bolt connecting them was missing and not recovered for examination. According to methods, techniques, and practices in Advisory Circular 43.13B, the bolt should have been secured with a castellated nut and cotter pin, and neither were recovered from the wreckage. The pilot reported that he was en route to his destination and three to four miles before reaching the runway, he lost elevator authority. The pilot used elevator trim and power settings to control pitch and descended over the runway. The pilot was able to level off over the runway and tried to get the airspeed to decrease. The airplane descended, impacted the runway, and sustained substantial damage to a wing strut. A postaccident examination by the FAA revealed the elevator control separated at a connection between the control cable and a push/pull tube. The tube and cable ends remained intact, and showed no signs of deformation or fatigue. The bolt connecting them was missing and not recovered for examination. According to methods, techniques, and practices in Advisory Circular 43.13B the bolt should have been secured with a castellated nut and cotter pin, and neither were recovered from the wreckage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Elevator control system-Failure - C
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Elevator control system-Malfunction
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2015_GAA15CA294.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.