N414US

On May 16, 2015, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, an Earl Allen Miglet, amateur-built experimental airplane, N414US, was substantially damaged following a partial loss of engine power on initial climb, which resulted in a forced landing at Rancho Tehama Airpark (49CN), Corning, California. The certified airline transport pilot and his sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the proposed local flight, which was being operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

In a statement provided to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot reported that full power was applied on takeoff roll. At 60 mph he rotated and climbed to between 100 to 200 ft, when he observed the rpm decay from 2,350 to 2,200; at 300 ft the rpm had decreased further to 1,900. The pilot stated that with some runway remaining, he elected to abort the climb and land; he touched down with about 300 ft of runway remaining. The pilot further stated that when he was unable to stop on the runway, the airplane impacted a fence at the end of the runway with its left main landing gear, which separated from the airplane. The left wing subsequently impacted the ground and was substantially damaged.

The pilot revealed to the NTSB IIC that the loss of power was due to a small set screw, which actuates the throttle, had come loose. The pilot reported that the airplane was built with surplus parts from Russia, and the subject set screw had no serial number. The pilot opined that when building an experimental aircraft with surplus parts from Russia, he would recommend substituting American procedures and parts if Russian parts subject to twisting loads do not have a secondary safety type backup.

A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector who performed a postaccident investigation of the engine reported that his inspection of the engine controls revealed that the throttle cable was not fully secure within the fastening hardware of the carburetor throttle body arm. As a result, this allowed the throttle cable rig to slip within the connector. The inspector opined that the loss of engine power was due to the slipping of the throttle cable within the connecting device.