What happened
During the takeoff climb phase of flight, the aircraft's engine lost power. While the pilot was performing a turn toward an intended emergency landing area, the airplane struck trees and fell to the ground.
The investigation
Post-accident examinations of the airframe and the fuel system showed no anomalies. However, an examination of the engine revealed that while the throttle cable was in the full forward position for maximum fuel flow, it had disconnected from the throttle arm on the fuel injector servo. At the time of the failure, the throttle arm remained in the idle position.
The hardware that previously connected the throttle cable rod end to the throttle arm could not be located. Investigators found wear around the circumference of the attachment holes on both the throttle cable rod end and the throttle arm. The wear pattern on the throttle arm's attachment hole was consistent with the rod end having been installed at a skewed angle. Records indicated the aircraft had received an annual inspection approximately 99 hours before the accident.