CEN23LA351 · Taylorcraft Aviation CORP. F21

The pilot was landing the airplane at a private runway when he added additional engine power to clear trees and reach the runway. The pilot started to apply the throttle, but the airplane continued to sink. The pilot then applied full engine power to execute a go-around, but realized the engine was not producing power. The pilot observed that the engine did not stop operating but was not responsive to his throttle inputs. The pilot did not hear any abnormal noises from the engine, noting “[t]here were no coughing or sputtering noises to my recollection.” The left wing impacted a tree about 30 ft short of the runway and the airplane came to rest upright on a grass field. The pilot shut down the airplane and the two occupants egressed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine found no mechanical anomalies. The pilot reported that the throttle cable might have been the potential cause for the lack of response from the engine, as there was a previous problem with the throttle cable “slipping.” During the postaccident examination, the throttle was found installed, intact, and there were no signs of any missing hardware. Although the pilot reported that he was not using carburetor heat on the approach, he indicated that on the final approach he was “carrying some power.” Additionally, the weather conditions at the time of the accident were not conducive to carburetor icing. Accordingly, the reason for the loss of engine power and the engine’s unresponsiveness to the pilot’s throttle inputs could not be determined.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset