The pilot reported that, during the descent for landing to the airport in Venice, Florida, the Cessna 172’s engine did not respond when he attempted to level off and increase power.
Further attempts to adjust the throttle were unsuccessful and engine RPM remained at 1,900.
As the airplane was over the runway, the pilot was unable to slow it down, so he forced the nose down onto the grass that was beyond the runway end.
After the airplane touched down, it bounced twice, collided with a fence, and nosed over.
The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot and passenger were unhurt.
The FAA inspector who responded to the scene confirmed the substantial damage and found that the connecting hardware for the linkage between the fuel injector servo and the throttle cable were missing.
The missing bolt, washer, and nut were subsequently found loose inside the engine cowling. However, the nut was inconsistent with the nut required by the aircraft illustrated parts manual. The engine had been overhauled and reinstalled about 50 operating hours before the accident.
Probable Cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to use the correct throttle linkage hardware when reinstalling the engine, resulting in a disconnection of the throttle during flight.
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This September 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.
I had a similar situation where the rpm would not retard below 1800, I blipped the mag switch(the WWI Rotary engines were controlled this way) to slow the C185 to landing speed. If the mixture is closed then you are in a dead stick landing situation.
Failure to use the correct hardware or follow the published maintenance procedures used to be considered semi-criminal behavior; maybe the whole private aviation industry should get back to that way of thinking.
I hope none of us ever face that, or facing it, have had the forethought to chair fly the scenario previously.
It took me 30sec on the ground to realize what I would do in that situation. Imagine the time this pilot needed to figure out the solution. Stay sharp and fly safe
This sounds like a pilot that had ZERO understanding of the system.
Otherwise he could have easily pulled th mixture OR turned off the mags.
I wonder what else he didn’t understand.
The 22-year-old private pilot did all right. Shoddy maintenance by a major flight training provider …Big RED Flag.
Could have cut the mixture or killed the mags on short final, too. Nevertheless, there’s no excuse for poor maintenance. T
Yes – doing that abeam the numbers to simulate a power-off glide to the runway would have been another option.
Could have used the mixture control to manage the loss of power control.