Accident Overview
On February 14, 2024, at approximately 1410 central standard time, a Beech 400A airplane, registration N95GK, was substantially damaged during a takeoff accident at Bentonville Municipal Airport (VBT) in Bentonville, Arkansas. The aircraft was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight, carrying two pilots and five passengers. The pilots and five passengers were not injured, while two passengers sustained minor injuries.
Pilot Report
The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, he pulled the control yoke aft to rotate for liftoff. The airplane pitched up as expected and the wheels left the ground. The nose then dropped slightly, prompting the pilot to add more backpressure on the yoke. Upon applying backpressure, he felt a "snap" and lost tension on the controls. The airplane pitched down and settled back onto the runway. The pilot applied maximum braking and full thrust reverse, but the airplane continued off the end of the runway. Facing a gas station ahead, the pilot applied left rudder and brake to turn the airplane, hoping the landing gear would collapse and stop the aircraft. Substantial damage occurred to the right wing.
Examination Findings
FAA inspectors visually examined the aircraft and flight controls at the accident site. The elevator control cable was found separated near the vertical stabilizer. The elevator control cables, pulley, guard pins, and wire fragments were sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further analysis.
The separated elevator control cable was fractured near the aft end of the fuselage, where the cable transitioned from horizontal to vertical orientation at a pulley assembly bracket. The pulley surface contained several isolated wire fragments. The elevator cable was covered in grease, including the fractured ends. The cable ends on each side of the fracture were bent with a similar radius. Many wires were displaced from the strands on both sides, and many displaced wires were bent back away from the fractured ends. Close examination revealed external wear on the side of the cable facing the inside radius of the bend near the fracture. Nearly all wires showed damage consistent with rubbing around the sides near the fracture. The fractures exhibited rough features consistent with overstress fracture.
Examination of the guard pins showed that the upper guard pin was missing most of its cadmium plating, and its middle portion had a rubbed surface appearance. The side walls on either side of the split line were worn with material missing, forming a shallow depression. The rubbed areas had scratch marks and gouges in various orientations, with the highest density near the middle of the pin on either side of the split line. The geometry of the marks and gouges appeared consistent with contact from splayed wires of the fractured control cable.
Maintenance History
A postaccident review of the maintenance logbook entries revealed that both the Up and Down elevator cables were replaced on January 31, 2023, at an airframe total time of 10,745.9 hours. The aircraft subsequently flew approximately 316.5 hours before the cable separated.