Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Santa Maria Pub/Capt G Allan H Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Santa Maria, California 93455
Sunday, December 16, 2001 18:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane came to rest inverted after colliding with the airport perimeter fence. While on approach to the airport, the airplane lost engine power and the pilot made a forced landing. Initial inspection revealed that the P-Lead for the dual magneto was not connected to the system properly. The inspection also revealed that the left side magneto timing was 10 degrees after top dead center. The right side magneto timing was within manufacturer's specifications. Further examination revealed that the points on the left side of the magneto were closed rendering the left side inoperative. A functional check of the ignition harness capacitors was conducted. When the ignition harness cover was secured to the magneto the left capacitor was intermittent. With the cover loosened, the left magneto functioned properly. It was noted that TCM SB 662A, replacement of date code affected capacitors, and TCM SB 651, capacitor grounding wire and attaching wire routing, had not been complied with. The magneto was sent to the manufacturer for further examination. The examination revealed that the primary ignition lead wire coil was misrouted from the terminal post to the distributor block. This allowed the wire to become trapped between the case halves when the cover was secured. When the wire was routed properly and bench tested it was found to operate within manufacturer's specifications. Engine logbook entries indicated that 2 weeks prior to the accident the engine would not run on the right magneto. The repair shop work order indicated that the left side points were grounded, rendering the left side of the magneto inoperative. The points were readjusted and the magneto was retimed on both sides. The magneto was returned as serviceable and reinstalled on the engine; however, the problem persisted. The ignition switch and magneto capacitor were replaced, and the right magneto postion P-Lead was repaired. The airplane was returned to service after a ground run revealed no mechancial anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Inadequate maintenance and inspection of the engine dual magneto that resulted in a loss of engine power during a critical phase of flight, and the subsequent undershoot forced landing in soft terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/16/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1815 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Santa Maria |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93455 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 345300N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1202746W |
| Event Location Airport | SANTA MARIA PUB/CAPT G ALLAN H |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SMX |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 261 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1751 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SMX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 242 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.3 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13590 |
| NTSB Notification Source | |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 16 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2030 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2003 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-VNY-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7317X |
| NTSB Number | LAX02LA050 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | R182 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | R18200073 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3100 |
| 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 | Jun 1 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 11 |
| Airframe Hours | 1625 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | LYNN AND BETTY MAHIN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LOS OSOS |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93402 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | JAMES WYATT |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | SANTA MARIA |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93455 |
| 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 | HJO |
| Departure City | Hanford |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1700 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | SMX |
| Destination City | Santa Maria |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 14 2003 2:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 6304 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |