What happened
On July 25, 2015, a Buckeye Dream Machine powered parachute was performing a local flight from a grass runway in Trenton, South Carolina. During the initial climb, the aircraft began drifting to the right, and the pilot found the foot pedals ineffective for maintaining directional control.
The pilot attempted to land back on the same runway. However, during the landing roll, the pilot was unable to stop the aircraft N371P before it exited the runway and collided with trees. The accident resulted in one minor injury and no fatalities. The airframe sustained substantial damage.
The investigation
An inspection of the aircraft following the accident revealed that a parachute cord had become wrapped around the nut of the right foot control pedal steering rod. This cord was impeding the movement of the steering mechanism. The pilot noted that there were no other mechanical failures present that would have prevented normal operation, but admitted that the cord may have been missed during the preflight inspection.