Accident Overview
On July 7, 2017, at about 1545 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, registration N6653J, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a field approximately 5 nautical miles southeast of Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) in Gainesville, Georgia. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Hilliard Airpark (01J) in Hilliard, Florida, at about 1430 and was destined for GVL.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, when the flight was about 10 miles from GVL, he made a radio call to the airport stating his location and intentions. He then began the landing checklist. As he moved the mixture control, the handle felt like it caught on something. He pushed harder to move it to the rich position, then moved it back to the point where it had hung up to troubleshoot. At that moment, he heard a popping sound, followed by a decrease in engine rpm to idle. He attempted a quick check of the throttle quadrant by breaking the sides for access but found no issue there. He moved the mixture control from full rich to idle cut-off and advanced the throttle fully, but the engine did not respond. By then, the flight was 7 miles from GVL. He made a mayday call reporting his location, executed a right 180° turn, and began searching for a landing area. He identified a nearby highway but deemed it congested and instead chose to land in a field.
Post-Accident Examination
The following day, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane at the accident site but could not access the cockpit because the cabin entry door was locked. The left fuel tank contained about half capacity; the fuel level in the right tank could not be determined. The airplane was subsequently recovered by the pilot. The pilot reported that the fuel selector was positioned to the left tank when the engine lost power.
The pilot, who also held an mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings and an inspection authorization, examined the engine compartment the day after the accident. He found that the mixture control cable had separated from the mixture control lever at the carburetor. The hardware that secured the control to the lever was not recovered. The last 100-hour inspection of the engine had been signed off by the pilot/mechanic on January 15, 2017. He reported that he had inspected the engine controls in the engine compartment during that inspection and found them properly secured. He had performed no additional work on the mixture control cable at the carburetor since the inspection. Between 30 and 40 hours of operation had occurred after the inspection.