Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hot Springs, Arkansas 71902
Thursday, December 5, 2002 18:58 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was on an instrument flight plan at night, with a destination of Little Rock, Arkansas. The pilot reported a loss of engine power, and he diverted into Hot Springs, Arkansas. The airplane impacted a brick house, approximately 6,000 feet short of the runway. The airplane engine ignition system's single-drive dual-magneto exhibited evidence of melted plastic on its four-lobe breaker cam. The cam itself exhibited "bluing" discoloration and was dry of lubrication. The internal damage to the magneto suggested that the breaker cam's shaft had been forcibly pushed into the magneto. Evaluation of the magneto housing revealed a 7/8-inch gouge, which matched the dimension of its hold-down clamp. The magneto had been removed during the airplane's last annual inspection for a normal maintenance inspection. The airplane had flown approximately 148 hours since its annual inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the loss of engine power due to the failure of the engine ignition system's single-drive dual-magneto, and the magneto's improper installation by unknown maintenance personnel. Contributing factors were the improper installation of the magneto by unknown maintenance personnel, the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing, and the dark night light condition.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/5/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1858 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Hot Springs |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 71902 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 342713N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0930720W |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1853 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HOT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 540 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| 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) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| 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) | 30.36 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16204 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 5 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1900 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 18 2004 9:01AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Little Rock, AR |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N314M |
| NTSB Number | DEN03FA023 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Rockwell Commander |
| Aircraft Model | 114 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 14268 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3140 |
| 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 | Mar 18 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 148 |
| Airframe Hours | 3794 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael S. McCarthy |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Little Rock |
| Aircraft Owner State | AR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 72202 |
| 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 | ADS |
| Departure City | Dallas |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1722 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | LIT |
| Destination City | Little Rock |
| Destination State | AR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 2 2004 10:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |