Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

The Gap, Arizona 86053
Monday, February 10, 2003 14:16 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After flying for 1.6 hours, and while cruising at 9,500 feet msl, all engine power was lost. The pilot made a forced landing in soft desert terrain, resulting in the airplane abruptly decelerating in a nose down attitude. According to the pilot, the airplane's fuel tanks were full when she initiated the flight. En route, the sky was clear of clouds. The pilot stated that when the mishap occurred, she felt a "slight shudder and noticed that the sound of the engine went to idle." The pilot reportedly applied full carburetor heat, enrichened the mixture, and repositioned the fuel selector to the "both tanks" position. However, engine power was not restored, and the propeller continued rotating at idle speed throughout the forced landing. Subsequently, the airplane's engine was examined. It was run up to full power, and no evidence of any mechanical abnormality was found. The cause of the nonmechanical loss of engine power was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/10/2003
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1416
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City The Gap
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86053
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361932N
Event Location Longitude 1112859W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID GCN
Elevation of weather observation facility 6606
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 45
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KGCN 102054Z 30007KT 10SM CLR 08/M16 A3018 R
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16549
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 13 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO Las Vegas, NV

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5029D
NTSB Number LAX03LA087
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 182A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 51129
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 17 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 3803
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mike Bishop
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Rifle
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81650
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Lottie K. Theut
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address On File
Operator City Mohave Valley
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 86440
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 A09
Departure City Bullhead City
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1240
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code GJT
Destination City GRAND JUNCTION
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2004 6:38PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
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 --