Maule M-7-235 accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, August 16, 2007
On August 16, 2007, a Maule M-7-235, registered N56568, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Chena Marina Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The reversal of the elevator control cables by maintenance personnel, and the inadequate preflight inspection by the flight instructor and dual student.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 2007
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Chena Marina Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-7-235 · all M-7-235s on the register
- Registration
- N56568 · no longer on the register · serial 4012C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A flight instructor (CFI) was giving a flight review to a private pilot, in the private pilot's airplane. The airplane had an annual inspection during which the elevator was removed and replaced, and this was the first flight since the repairs. The CFI said that during the takeoff roll, as soon as the private pilot moved the yoke aft, the airplane nosed over, and came to rest inverted. An FAA inspector did a postaccident inspection, revealing that the elevator cables were connected backwards, reversing the control yoke actions, and resulting in down elevator when the yoke was pulled aft. The CFI reported that he and the private pilot did a preflight inspection of the airplane, but failed to check for the correct travel of the airplane's elevator. In his written statement to the NTSB, the CFI wrote, in part: "The elevator is hard or impossible to see while being buckled in the aircraft, but [it] should have been discovered."
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,103 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 967 as pilot in command; 233 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 375 hours in all; 275 in this make and model; 0 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: April 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,745.3 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2007; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-W1A5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AK28 Fairbanks AK at 7:30 pm
- Destination: AK28
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 4,700 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; a few clouds at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from FAI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.