Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Felipe Mexico
Sunday, March 14, 2004 14:50 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On March 14, 2004, at 1450 pacific standard time, a Cessna 180K tailwheel-equipped airplane, N61576, was substantially damaged during a precautionary landing following a partial loss of engine power while in cruise flight near San Felipe, State of Baja California, in the Republic of Mexico. The airline transport pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane, serial number 180-52782, was owned and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area for the personal flight for which a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed. The flight departed from San Felipe, Mexico, at 1430, with a planned destination of Calexico, California. Local authorities reported that the pilot reported a rough running engine during cruise flight at 2,500 feet, and elected to execute a precautionary landing on a salt flat. The pilot reported that after about a 400 foot rollout, the main landing gears sank into the soft ground and the airplane nosed-over, coming to rest in the inverted position. The reason for the rough running engine could not be determined following the recovery of the airplane. The accident investigation is under the control and jurisdiction of the Government of Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from: Secretraria de Comunicaciones y Transportes Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC) Providencia 807, Cuarto Piso Colonia del Valle, Codigo Postal 03100 Mexico, D.F. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by, or obtained from the DGAC of the Republic of Mexico.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/14/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1450
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City San Felipe
Event State --
Event Country MEXICO
Zipcode of the event site 00000
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions --
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency Foreign
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source DGAC of Mexico
NTSB Notification Date Mar 18 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 6 2004 9:35AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N61576
NTSB Number FTW04WA170
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 180K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name --
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? --
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? --
Operator Street Address 1552 Brentford Avenue
Operator City Westlake Village
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 91361
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City San Felipe
Departure State --
Departure Country MX
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Calexico
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 6 2004 9:35AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --