Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kissimmee, Florida 32741
Sunday, October 7, 1990 12:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PLT RPRTD THE ENG STARTED & RAN NORMALLY BEFORE TAKEOFF. HOWEVER, DURING FLT, IT BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH. THE PLT REDUCED THE POWER SETTING WHICH INITIALLY ELIMINATED THE ENG ROUGHNESS. HE CHECKED EACH MAGNETO & NOTED NO MALFUNCTION; HOWEVER, WHILE DIVERTING TO A NEARBY ARPT, THE ENG AGAIN BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH & A SEVERE LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE ACFT STRUCK A PALM TREE DURING A LEFT DESCENDING TURN AT LOW ALTITUDE & CRASHED. THE ENG WAS EQUIPPED WITH BENDIX MODEL S4LN-200 SERIES MAGNETOS. DURING A BENCH CHECK BOTH MAGNETOS BEGAN MISFIRING AFTER ABOUT 15 TO 20 MIN OF OPN. DISASSEMBLY OF THE MAGNETOS REVEALED THE NONCONDUCTIVE MATERIAL IN THE COILS WAS CRACKED & WAS BEGINNING TO LIQUEFY; THIS RESULTED IN MISDIRECTION OF THE HIGH VOLTAGE SPARK. THE MAGNETOS HAD APRX 2316 HRS IN SVC. ACCORDING TO AD 73-07-04, THE COILS IN THE MAGNETOS OF THIS ACFT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED AFTER ACCUMULATING APRX 2000 HRS OF OPN. THE ACFT HAD FLOWN 11 HRS SINCE THE LAST ANNUAL INSPN.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

MALFUNCTION OF BOTH MAGNETOS DUE TO DETERIORATION OF THE COILS, FAILURE OF MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL TO COMPLY WITH AN AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE, AND FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT WHILE ON AN APPROACH FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE OBSTRUCTION (TREE) IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA, AND DIVERSION OF THE PILOT'S ATTENTION WHILE APPROACHING TO LAND.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/7/1990
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City KISSIMMEE
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32741
Event Date Year 1990
Event Date Month 10
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1250 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 32
Weather Observation Facility ID MCO
Elevation of weather observation facility 96
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3900
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) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
Density Altitude (feet) 1500
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1908
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 7 1990 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1330
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2002 11:38AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\GIUV
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1389W
NTSB Number MIA91FA008
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 MOONEY
Aircraft Model M20C
Aircraft Series Identifier M20C
Aircraft Serial Number 2667
Certified Max Gross Weight 2575
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 13 1990 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 22
Airframe Hours 2316
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name L. G. & P. W. BLENDERMANN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 12105 N. EDGEWATER DR.
Aircraft Owner City LAKE PARK
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33410
Operator is an individual? --
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? 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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SUA
Departure City STUART
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TOC
Destination City TOCCOA
Destination State GA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length 0
Runway Width 0
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --