Nevada Co. Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grass Valley, California 95945
Sunday, June 18, 1989 16:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED 50 TO 150 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY WHEN THE ENGINE BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH AND LOOSING POWER. HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE AND ELECTED TO LAND ON A ROAD. THE AIRCRAFT'S WING STRUCK A BRIDGE DURING THE LANDING ROLL AND THE AIRCRAFT OVERTURNED. THE ENGINE LOG REFLECTED THAT THE RIGHT MAGNETO POINTS AND DISTRIBUTOR BLOCK WERE REPLACED AND BOTH MAGNETOS WERE RETIMED ON JULY 14, 1981 AT 4329 TOTAL AIRFRAME HOURS. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT INSPECTIONS WERE PERFORMED DURING THE EIGHT YEARS AND 1,233 OPERATIONAL HOURS PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT. DURING THE POST ACCIDENT ENGINE TEST THE RIGHT MAGNETO FAILED AFTER OPERATING FOR 10 MINUTES. AN EXAMINATION OF THE RIGHT MAGNETO COIL DISCLOSED EVIDENCE OF ARCING.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

FAILURE TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS PRESCRIBED BY THE MAGNETO, ENGINE AND AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS. THE HIGH DENSITY ALTITUDE AND TERRAIN CONDITIONS WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/18/1989
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1645
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City GRASS VALLEY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95945
Event Date Year 1989
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NEVADA CO. AIRPARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 017
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 3150
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1650 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 237
Weather Observation Facility ID MYV
Elevation of weather observation facility 62
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 5000
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1620
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 18 1989 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1745
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 39769
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 12:46PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3618S
NTSB Number LAX89LA221
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 172E
Aircraft Series Identifier 172E
Aircraft Serial Number 17250818
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 13 1988 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 53
Airframe Hours 5562
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RADIO SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 13281 GRASS VALLEY AVE.
Aircraft Owner City GRASS VALLEY
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95945
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1643
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
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 25
Runway Length 3920
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --