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An ash-25 glider's aft cockpit left rudder cable became disconnected during flight; but the aircraft was fully controllable from the front cockpit.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1123542 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201310 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Sail Plane |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Rudder Control System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 35 Flight Crew Total 1710 Flight Crew Type 255 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
The glider is a two seater. The two primary cables from the rudder go straight to the front seat pedals; and the rear seat pedals connect by a short cable to each right and left primary cable. I was in the rear seat when the left rudder pedal connection to the rudder cable lost tension while applying corrective pressure in a right turn. The cables from the rudder to the front seat were unaffected; and the glider was fully controllable. Only the rear seat connection to the left cable was lost. A bit startling. The rear seat connector cable goes through an 'south' shaped metal tube with a plastic sleeve to improve movement. The tube part closest to the pedal had worn through. Corrective action included immediate slowing and rolling to level flight. The front seat pilot took over rudder control and normal flight was maintained to landing. Stabilizing the flight was priority #1 then descending to landing was next once control was confirmed. We were airborne less than 1.5 hours for the entire flight.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An ASH-25 Glider's aft cockpit left rudder cable became disconnected during flight; but the aircraft was fully controllable from the front cockpit.
Narrative: The glider is a two seater. The two primary cables from the rudder go straight to the front seat pedals; and the rear seat pedals connect by a short cable to each right and left primary cable. I was in the rear seat when the left rudder pedal connection to the rudder cable lost tension while applying corrective pressure in a right turn. The cables from the rudder to the front seat were unaffected; and the glider was fully controllable. Only the rear seat connection to the left cable was lost. A bit startling. The rear seat connector cable goes through an 'S' shaped metal tube with a plastic sleeve to improve movement. The tube part closest to the pedal had worn through. Corrective action included immediate slowing and rolling to level flight. The front seat pilot took over rudder control and normal flight was maintained to landing. Stabilizing the flight was priority #1 then descending to landing was next once control was confirmed. We were airborne less than 1.5 hours for the entire flight.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.