N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kaiser/Lake Oza, Missouri 65047
Monday, July 8, 2002 21:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a forced landing into a hayfield, the aircraft was substantially damaged when it impacted a perimeter tree line. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane's performance was "somewhat sluggish and was slow to accelerate up to 100 mph", according to the pilot. He reported that approximately five miles from the airport at 400 ft agl, the engine suffered a "catastrophic loss of power." He noted that returning to the airport was not possible due to the developing descent rate and that options for a forced landing site were limited due to the terrain. A small hay field was selected, however, he was unable to stop prior to the tree line at the edge of the field. A post-accident engine examination by the FAA inspector on-scene noted that the left magneto drive gear had malfuntioned, producing an erratic spark distribution and resulting in a significant loss of engine performance. The pilot reported having engine problems the day before the accident flight. He returned to the departure airport and consulted a mechanic. A loose spark plug lead was secured and a non-firing spark plug was replaced. The mechanic's statement noted that the airplane still was not developing rated static RPM's and was not within tolerances on the magneto checks. He determined that the left magneto needed to be replaced or repaired. The pilot's statement reported that the engine performance was within specifications, and that the mechanic indicated replacement of the left magneto was optional. No logbook entry was made for the work done. In addition, the accident flight was conducted with a total of five occupants on-board: two adults and three children. This exceeded the number of approved seats/seat belts installed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to conduct the flight with a known deficiency in the aircraft, a failure by the pilot to execute a precautionary landing due to "sluggish" performance during takeoff, the loss of engine power due to the malfunction of the left magneto, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing. Contributing factors were the low ambient light due to the time of day (night), and the tree line at the edge of the field.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/2002
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 2130
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Kaiser/Lake Oza
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 65047
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 380546N
Event Location Longitude 0923258W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2135 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID AIZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 869
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
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) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) 2176
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 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12967
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 9 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1749
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2003 4:06PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office MCI-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N175HL
NTSB Number CHI02LA186
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 175
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 55002
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
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 Jun 25 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 1665
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William M. Anderson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 625 S. Main Street
Aircraft Owner City Creve Coeur
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61610
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 AIZ
Departure City Kaiser/Lake Oza
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2115
Departure Time Zone UTC
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PIA
Destination City Peoria
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2003 9:42AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --