The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-18-105 Special reported that the mixture control had been “working really hard” during the initial flight, so he landed at a remote site near Gakona, Alaska, to investigate.
Once on the ground, he found that the mixture control cable, just behind the instrument panel, had failed. He manually opened the mixture control lever and departed for his destination airport.
While en route, at about 700 feet above ground level the engine lost all power. He made an emergency off-airport landing to a heavily forested area and the airplane hit several small- to medium-sized spruce trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and left lift strut.
After the accident, the pilot found the mixture control arm had become detached from his previous temporary repair and it was in the closed position.
Additionally, he noted that he made a poor decision to fly the airplane with a failed mixture control cable.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s decision to initiate a flight with a failed mixture control cable, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
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This May 2021 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Years ago, I flew one of our banner planes to a grass strip about 20 miles from our home base. After landing, I pulled the mixture & it came out of the panel in my hand. Shut down with mags. As I was the A&P that maintained a/c, no big deal. Wired it full rich & returned to our base. The big deal was the pilot who flew the aircraft prior to me had the same problem. Instead of telling someone, or placarding the yoke or just leaving the mixture hanging out so you could not miss it, he just pushed it back in. The next morning as I’m fixing it, the moron mentions that the mixture cable broke the previous day & he forgot to tell anybody. This particular moron was also an A&P mechanic. Came close to going to jail that morning!
If this pilot had successfully wired the mixture lever in the full rich position, we would not have heard of any problem.
He would have flown home and made the repair to the mixture cable.
Landing is this remote location, I would have done the same, but I would have used a substantial wire to keep the mixture lever in the full open position.
So, it appears that some pilots are not very good mechanics…!!
Get-there-itis strikes again. You can fix the choke cable on your old 1954 Chevy pickup truck, and if it fails, you just drift to the side of the road. Failure in flight leads to the cemetery. That pilot is lucky he lived. Seems to me if a pilot detects ANY hint of malfunction, that problem should be solved before takeoff. But that’s just me.
Regards/J
No, it isn’t just You. I think exactly the same, Mr. James Brian Potter.