John Wayne Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Santa Ana, California 92707
Wednesday, June 21, 2000 18:28 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor and student pilot were taking off to do pattern work prior to soloing the student pilot. Shortly after takeoff, during the initial climb, the instructor noticed that the engine was running very rough and that the rpm's had dropped to about 1,700. He declared an emergency and said he was circling back to land. The control tower told the instructor that they were unable to clear him on the runway he had requested due to departing traffic. The instructor stated that immediately after this, the engine rpm dropped completely and the engine quit. He continued his turn toward the runway, determined that he was not going to be able to make the runway, and elected to set it down in the grass area between the runways. A postaccident examination revealed that the No. 4 cylinder exhaust valve had been ingested into the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power during the initial takeoff climb, at too low an altitude to afford remedial action, because of an ingested valve, and the airplane's subsequent collision with the ground adjacent to the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/21/2000
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1828
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City SANTA ANA
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92707
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SNA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 54
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID SNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 54
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 16000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 66
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 61
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10887
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 11 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1223
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2001 7:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7598D
NTSB Number LAX00LA260
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 72928
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 16 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RICHARD BARRETT
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City COSTA MESA
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92627
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name SUNRISE AVIATION
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 19531 CAMPUS #7
Operator City SANTA ANA
Operator State CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 92707
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code SNA
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1830
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2001 10:40AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 1L
Runway Length 5700
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --