N2005JTaylorcraft Aviation F21

On August 6, 2023, about 2000 central daylight time, a Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation F21 airplane, N2005J, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Holliday, Texas. The pilot and the passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot departed from a private grass airstrip near Holliday, Texas, for the local flight. While established on the approach to the airstrip, the pilot felt the airplane needed 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 that 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 airstrip 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 revealed flight control continuity. The two wing fuel tanks were found intact. The wing tanks fed into a header tank, which appeared to be intact and full of fuel. Engine control continuity was established from the cockpit. Examination of the engine found no mechanical anomalies. The pilot reported that he was not using carburetor heat on the approach. He stated that he was on a mile final and was carrying some power. Comparison of the weather conditions at the time of the accident to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35 indicated that the conditions were not conducive to carburetor icing.

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.” The throttle cable was adjusted by a mechanic on March 18, 2023, about four and a half months before the accident, and the pilot reported that the maintenance work corrected the slippage issue. During the postaccident examination, the throttle was found installed, intact, and there were no signs of any missing hardware.

When the pilot purchased the airplane in September 2022, the most recent annual inspection had been completed in November 2011. A mechanic performed an annual inspection on the airframe and the engine on October 28, 2022.