Accident Details
On May 2, 2022, at about 1550 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 414 airplane, registration N46TA, was substantially damaged after colliding with trees at Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport (VVS), Connellsville, Pennsylvania. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries, and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a flight test.
Flight Information
The purpose of the flight was a local maintenance test flight to evaluate the autopilot’s performance. The pilot, who also held a mechanic certificate, reported that he had removed and reinstalled the S-TEC autopilot mode control unit in the cockpit before the flight due to a discrepancy noted on a previous flight. After a normal taxi and run-up, the pilot initiated the takeoff. When the airplane reached rotation speed, he pulled back on the flight controls with one hand, but the controls did not move. He then pulled with both hands, but the controls still did not move. The passenger, also a mechanic, reported the pilot was unable to rotate the airplane. The passenger recalled a dip in the runway surface and felt a bump around the expected rotation time. The pilot aborted the takeoff and applied maximum braking. The airplane could not stop on the remaining runway, ran off the runway and down a ravine, and collided with trees, causing substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot stated nothing was unusual with the flight controls during the run-up, and the passenger recalled the controls were functional before takeoff.
Postaccident Examination
Examination of the cockpit panel revealed that the left avionics stack contained a Garmin GNS 530 GPS and a Bendix-King KX-155 navigation/communication receiver. The avionics tray holding the KX-155 unit was found stuck within the opening area of the elevator bellcrank. When the flight controls were moved forward or aft, the elevator bellcrank also moved, but the controls would not move. The trays in the left avionics stack were sagging downward, and the avionics units moved downward when the fronts were pushed by hand. The bottom rearward portion of the KX-155 tray was deformed, and the tray and bellcrank exhibited significant scratching and metal polishing. After the tray was removed from the bellcrank movement area, the flight controls operated through a full range of motion. The avionics trays were secured to the sheet metal on the front of the cockpit panel, but neither tray had metal straps securing the rear or sides to the airplane’s structure. The KX-155 tray had a metal strap on its left side that was not connected to any structure, and no other trays had straps connected to the airframe.
Maintenance Records
Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness records indicated the Garmin GNS 530 was first installed in the accident airplane in 2006. Review of maintenance records from 2006 found no entries related to removal or reinstallation of the GNS 530 or the KX-155 unit. The pilot/mechanic stated he performed numerous inspections on the airplane starting in 2016 and that before the accident he “didn’t even know to look for this” on avionics trays.
Advisory Circular Reference
Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 43.13-2A, chapter 2, Radio Installations, states: “To minimize the load on a stationary instrument panel, whenever practicable, install a support between the rear (or side) surface of the radio case and a nearby structural member of the aircraft.”