Accident Narrative
The commercial certificated pilot was landing at a remote gravel airstrip. During final approach to the gravel bar/airstrip, the pilot reported that the airplane encountered a minor downdraft. As he began to add engine power to arrest the resulting descent, the engine did not respond with any increase in power. The pilot stated he pumped the throttle without any response. The airplane continued to descend and touched down in an area of low brush, about 50 yards short of the airstrip.
During the touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wingtip struck the ground. The pilot, who also holds an aircraft mechanic certificate, reported that the engine had been overhauled and reinstalled on the airplane three days before the accident. At that time, he installed an overhauled carburetor.
Post-Accident Examination
After the accident, the pilot indicated that during attempts to run the engine, it would start and run at idle power. He noticed a binding of the carburetor's throttle cable or internal carburetor linkage. He replaced the throttle cable but still felt a binding in the throttle mechanism. The pilot then disconnected the throttle cable from the carburetor and hand-operated the throttle arm; it had binding only when the engine was running.
The NTSB Investigator-in-Charge conducted an examination of the carburetor at an aviation maintenance facility. No mechanical malfunctions were discovered during the examination.