Waco EQC-6 accident near Battle Creek, Michigan, April 5, 2006
On April 5, 2006 at about 7:25 pm local time, a Waco EQC-6, registered N16214, was substantially damaged in an accident near Battle Creek, Michigan (W.K.Kellogg Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The maintenance facility failed to properly install and inspect the rudder cable system resulting in the reversed rudder condition which made directional control not possible during the aborted takeoff. A contributing factor was an inadequate preflight inspection by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 2006 · about 7:25 pm local time
- Place
- Battle Creek, Michigan · W.K.Kellogg Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Waco EQC-6
- Registration
- N16214 · registry record · serial 4425
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The single-engine biplane sustained substantial damage during an aborted takeoff when the airplane veered sharply to the left during the takeoff roll, and the right wing and right horizontal stabilizer impacted the runway. The pilot reported that he used braking action to change direction when he taxied to the runway for takeoff. He stated that the tailwheel was locked while taxiing. The pilot reported that he could not see the rudder when he checked the flight controls prior to takeoff, and he did not have anyone verify the direction of the rudder when he moved the rudder pedals. Once on the runway he added power for takeoff, but immediately reduced power due to the lack of directional control. He reported that he aborted the takeoff before the airplane reached 30 knots airspeed. He reported the airplane "swerved suddenly and extremely sharply to the left causing the wingtips to scrape the runway." The inspection of the airplane revealed that the rudder control cables were rigged backwards. The airplane had undergone maintenance to have the original cable operated brakes replaced with hydraulic brakes. After the hydraulic brakes had been installed by the maintenance facility, the rudder cables were improperly rigged to the control surface. The maintenance facility's inspection of the hydraulic brake installation did not have a procedure in its inspection checklist that required an inspection of the rudder cable installation. The maintenance facility's inspection of the brakes did not detect the misrigged rudder cables.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 620 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Wright 760-E-2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BTL Battle Creek MI at 7:25 pm
- Destination: C77 Poplar Grove IL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 31
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI06CA106.