Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gila Bend, Arizona 85337
Tuesady, April 5, 2011 10:21 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that during cruise flight he heard a loud noise from the engine compartment followed by an immediate loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine with no success while diverting to the nearest airport. Upon realizing that he would be unable to reach the airport, he decided to land on an interstate highway. As he approached the highway, the pilot observed heavy traffic and decided to land on an adjacent service road. During the landing roll, the left wing struck a tree and the airplane ground looped, resulting in structural damage to both wings. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that both sets of magneto points were not opening. Inspection of the single-drive dual magneto found that the cam followers on both sets of points were worn to the point that they could no longer open the contacts. The magneto had accumulated 603.7 hours at the time of the accident since installation and 92.56 hours since the most recent magneto timing adjustment. No further anomalies were noted during the examination of the engine that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to both sets of magneto points failing to open as a result of excessive wear of the magneto cam followers.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/5/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1021 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Gila Bend |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85337 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 325736N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1124025W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 955 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 200 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KGBN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 883 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29203 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 3 2011 7:53PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2637V |
| NTSB Number | WPR11FA186 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 177RG |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 177RG0637 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 13 |
| Airframe Hours | 5677 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ARNESS MARK |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | PORT REPUBLIC |
| Aircraft Owner State | MD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 20676-2054 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | ARNESS MARK |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | PORT REPUBLIC |
| Operator State | MD |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 20676-2054 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | RNM |
| Departure City | Ramona |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 745 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FHU |
| Destination City | Sierra Vista |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 3 2011 7:53PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |