Salt Lake City Municipal 2 Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Jordan, Utah 84088
Thursday, February 12, 2004 16:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the instructor, they were practicing ground maneuvers at approximately 6,000 feet msl when the engine began to "run rough." The instructor said they were unable to maintain altitude, and while returning to the airport the "engine quit." The instructor made a forced landing in a snow-covered field. During the landing, the airplane's nose landing gear caught the snow and the airplane nosed over. The airplane's nose landing gear was displaced aft, buckling the firewall. The empennage was buckled just aft of the rear window, and the vertical stabilizer was crushed. The instructor said the field was covered with over a foot of snow. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed a hole in the number 1 piston, and a fractured exhaust valve for the number 1 cylinder.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the failure of the exhaust valve for the engine's number one cylinder, resulting in the exhaust valve/piston contact and the subsequent total loss of engine power. Contributing factors include the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing and the snow covered field.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/12/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City West Jordan
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84088
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Salt Lake City Municipal 2
Event Location Nearest Airport ID U42
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 4603
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1655 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID KU42
Elevation of weather observation facility 4603
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 90
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 75
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) 6405
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15666
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 12 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1716
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N66952
NTSB Number DEN04LA044
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 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15281687
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 24 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59.8
Airframe Hours 8282.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ALTA Aircraft Maintenance Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7220 S 4450 West
Aircraft Owner City West Jordan
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84084
Operator is an individual? No
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code U42
Departure City West Jordan
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code U42
Destination City West Jordan
Destination State UT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2004 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
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 --