This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
While attempting to level off on a cross-country flight, the Cessna 172’s throttle was unresponsive to any inputs and stuck at full power.
Requested priority handling with approach diverted to the nearest airport and safely landed using a combination of leaning and eventually stopping the engine using the mixture and using a slip to lose altitude.
The bolt holding the throttle cable fell off due to being improperly secured after a carburetor replacement approximately five hours before the malfunction.
Maintenance staff should ensure all work is performed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and carefully inspected prior to return to service.
Primary Problem: Procedure
ACN: 1902520
I need verification. flight controls & primary engine controls are torqued, lock wired and putty sealed stamping mechanic’s approval numbers. requires 2 signitories Duplicate Inspections.
Quality Assurance & Technical Records would hunt for the maintenance people. Poor guys defenceless punching bags in this story.
Spent 44yrs as a a&p mechanic for a major airline never had those experience pay was very good and we were union enjoyed my time with the 2 airlines safety came first
Doesn’t help that A&Ps are paid less then your average mechanic at a automotive repair station. Especially with so much on the line, guys I’m working with have 2 jobs to make ends meet in califorina and usually are overworked, tired and burnt out. I work as a mechanic as my side job and I’m a flexible employee because the shop needs all the help it can get, but the pay is abysmal and I’m only doing it to check more boxes on my resume and get some GA experience in case I ever am looking for another job as a mechanic.
I try to always work in pairs with another mechanic and have been trying to always have each other cross check out work, but usually when I ask him to check my safety wire and torque on the propeller mounting bolts or something major they just say “oh I trust you,” and when I double check their work they get offended. But I think thst great mechanics are pushed away as ones I’ve known in GA with that mentality of safety have been hired for small niche shops thst deal with experimental or small business jets making 80+/hour (3x increase in pay). Or they work for train stations and public transport as Master mechanics for similar pay because of the certifications and what separates them from others.
In brief, distractions are a large cause of accidents/ incidents today. A brief phone call to the mechanic working on your plane, while at a critical phase of a component installation, could very well be the cause of your next emergency. We all have checklists and flows while performing our jobs, repairing an aircraft to piloting an aircraft. Ever get distracted by a passenger, lose your place on your checklist and forget to set the DG or altimeter? As a mechanic I understand the liability I place not only on me, but my family, as well as the client’s family if I am negligent in the tasks I am performing on an aircraft. Have you ever gotten a phone call stating the plane you worked on just crashed in someone’s back yard? That is a phone call I never want to receive again!
So this maint was done 5 flight hours before this flight.
Just my opinion here, but this is another reason to practice the CPL maneuver: The engine out 180 degree precision landing.
Get into the pattern of the airport you choose. About 10 seconds before getting to abeam the numbers, pull the mixture. Fly the maneuver as you have trained/practiced and this landing will be just another day in the office.
If you’ve don’t know this maneuver, get with a CFI and have them demonstrate it and teach you how it is done. It is a good maneuver to have in your repertoire.
Yes, for practice you pull the throttle. Wanna make it as if it is the real thing like this guy had, pull the mixture, because that is the only control he had except for kill the mags.
Years ago I was sent to ferry a BET I BARON from Kentucky back to Wichita. The plane had had an engine fire. It had been repaired and was ready for the ferry permit to be signed.
After a two hour preflight and run-up departed. All was normal until the power reduction.. No throttle on right engine. A clump to 6500 feet was the power reduction.. Continued to Wichita. Advised Wichita Approach of the issue and Wichita tower.
Left engine idled and right engine at full power. Advised tower I’d need a tug since the Baron can’t taxi on one engine from a stop.
On half mile final throttled the left engine up and then pulled the right mixture and feathered the engine.
90% trust, 10% verify. Unless you were there when Al the assembly was done, you are trusting. Are you going to pull all the inspection panels, probably not.
Pick your shop by reputation if the shop can get you right in, run.
I remember a barber shop sign in their window.
“We repair cut rate haircuts”.
“Trust but verify.” Ronald Regan
Some individuals are natural mechanical inclined people. Others are mechanics by rote memory. You can never train an individual that doesn’t consider the life of a pilots first!! All people should take an apptitude test prior to being accepted into a mechanical position!! The mechanic hold people’s lives in their hands. Get serious!!
Aircraft owners and pilots need to be mindful that maintenance Errors create significant hazard and must act accordingly the most likely time for an aircraft to suffer mechanical problem is on the first flight after maintenance be thoroughly Skeptical anytime Aircraft comes out of the shop your preflight and post flight maintenance test flight or last line of defense against maintenance errors.
Great article…I experienced a similar incident in a 310 after an annual inspection. Learned to always double check all work performed on my aircraft…