Aircraft owners advised to check control cables

The Directorate of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations has issued a safety advisory notice in which it urged owners of Cessna F406 and applicable series of aircraft to undergo a visual and borescope inspections to ensure the integrity of their primary control cables and routing.

Control cables connect controls in the cockpit to parts such as the landing gear, elevators and rudders, amongst others.

The directorate is currently investigating an emergency landing which took place on 24 October 2023.

It said a Cessna F406 - registration V5-WAI - took off from Eros Airport for a charter flight to B2Gold via Hosea Kutako International Airport. On board were two crew members and one passenger.

The flight was uneventful until there was a sudden aircraft pitch-up and the control column moved fully forward into the instrument panel.

The pilot issued a mayday call and went on to execute an emergency landing. No one was injured, but the aircraft sustained damage after colliding with an anthill and a fence, the directorate said.

“During the on-site investigation, a failed elevator control cable was found near the pulley underneath the left rudder pedals. Why it failed is still under investigation.”

Safety advisory notices provide a marker to the industry and the regulator that the directorate has identified a safety deficiency for which it does not yet have sufficient information.

As more data becomes available, and if the safety deficiency is found to be systemic and not redressed, the safety concern may lead to a recommendation, it explained.