Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tacna, Arizona 85352
Wednesday, July 5, 2000 8:20 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot made a forced landing on a gravel road following a loss of engine power. The right wing struck a road sign. The flight had been airborne about 20 minutes and the pilot had established cruise flight. The engine made a loud noise, began to vibrate severely, and lost power. Post accident examination determined that the engine case fractured in the vicinity of the No. 6 cylinder, and the cylinder's base was displaced away from the case. The engine could not be rotated by hand, but oil was in the oil pan. The piston in cylinder No. 1 fractured and separated at the piston pin. The piston rod continued to rotate, which fractured the camshaft in half and separated both magnetos. The piston rings in cylinder No. 1 fractured and scored the interior wall of the cylinder in the direction of the cylinder stroke. There was no discoloration of the engine components or other signs of oil starvation. There was no mechanical damage on the piston face that indicated the possibility of a stuck valve. The airplane received an annual inspection 1 month prior to the accident, and all airworthiness directives and required inspections had been complied with. The manufacturer recommends that this engine model should be overhauled at 1,500 hours, and this engine had over 1,820 hours since overhaul.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The piston and rings in cylinder No. 1 failed resulting in a total loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing on a road and the airplane's wing collided with a road sign.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/2000
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 820
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City TACNA
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85352
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 756 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 250
Weather Observation Facility ID YUM
Elevation of weather observation facility 216
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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) 12342
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1221
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 3:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8154Z
NTSB Number LAX00LA258
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 205
Aircraft Series Identifier 205
Aircraft Serial Number 20500154
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 14
Airframe Hours 3272
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RALPH R. BECKETT
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City YUMA
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85364
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code YUM
Departure City YUMA
Departure State AZ
Departure Country --
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SEZ
Destination City SEDONA
Destination State AZ
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 17 2002 1:04PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --