No fatalities

14 Mar 2008: Stinson 108 — Littleton C. Billingsley — Chugiak, AK

Chugiak, AK, United States

On 14 Mar 2008, a Stinson 108 operated by Littleton C. Billingsley was involved in an aviation accident near Chugiak, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The aileron control cables were misrouted, and the aileron's direction of travel was reversed. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During the first flight after an extensive rebuild and annual inspection, an airplane rolled left on takeoff, the left wing struck the runway, and the airplane nosed over. Postaccident inspection found misrouted aileron control cables causing reversed aileron travel.

Accident Details

The accident involved an airline transport certificated pilot conducting a local area flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. The flight was the first since the airplane underwent an extensive rebuild and its annual inspection. According to the pilot, he performed a preflight inspection using the airplane's checklist and had several maintenance items corrected before departure.

During the takeoff roll, as the airplane became airborne, it immediately rolled to the left. The left wing subsequently struck the runway surface. The pilot responded by pulling the engine power to idle, but he was unable to correct the roll. The airplane then pivoted to the left and nosed over.

Postaccident Inspection

Following the accident, an inspection of the airplane was conducted by the pilot, maintenance personnel, and an FAA inspector. The inspection revealed that the aileron control cables had been misrouted, which resulted in the aileron's direction of travel being reversed.

Probable cause

The aileron control cables were misrouted, and the aileron's direction of travel was reversed.

Contributing factors

Incorrect service/maintenanceMaintenance personnelPilot