N3493C

On June 24, 1998, about 1420 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 170B, N3493C, was destroyed during a landing at Oneonta Municipal Airport (N66), Oneonta, New York. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR 91.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the pilot stated that the airplane veered to the right during the landing. The pilot said he attempted a go-around, but had no left rudder response. The airplane continued in a right turn to a maximum altitude of 60 feet before it settled into some trees about 200 feet from the runway and 110 degrees from the runway heading.

On-site examination of the airplane revealed a broken left rudder cable, part number 0510105-1. The cable was free of corrosion, and had 454 hours of flight time on it. According to the aircraft logbook, the cable was replaced in July 1985.

Further inspection of the cable revealed that breaks in individual strands varied along a 1-inch section of the cable, and that numerous broken strands were bent backwards. The turnbuckle assembly that connected the cable to the rudder horn was bent about 10 degrees, and where the cable joined the turnbuckle, the cable was bent about 30 degrees. The cable separated approximately 19 inches from the farthest end of the turnbuckle.

A review of schematic diagrams revealed that the cable break was in the vicinity of where the rudder cable went through a bulkhead, and then through a pulley mounted on the bulkhead's forward side.