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I’m back!  I know it’s been a while since I’ve produces a new episode for the podcast, and it’s good to be back.

Today, we are talking about an engine failure in a Piper Arrow, that caused an off-airport crash landing in a farm field.  Thankfully, in this case, no one was injured.

The reason for the power loss was really quite simple, and really important.  The throttle control rod end became disconnected from the throttle arm on the engine, leaving the pilot with no power control and the engine at or near idle power.  An emergency landing was inevitable.

Here’s a picture of the throttle control rod end:

After the crash landing in the field, the rod end was reattached and the engine ran just fine.

The sad part is, the airplane will possibly be totaled.  Here’s the recovered fuselage:

Thanks for listening today!

Please, go take a look at your engine controls whenever you have the cowling off, and see if any need attention.

Also, if you have not checked out the video course, “Safety Wire Like A Pro!” then I invite you to click the graphic that says “Learn to Safety Wire with Dean.”  You can learn all kinds of valuable information in this course.  And whenever you see something like this oil drain that is safety wired backwards, you’ll be able to fix it with confidence.

If you have any questions on this episode, please contact me.  And, if you leave me a voice message, I’ll be happy to include it in a future episode.

Thanks!