Palo Alto Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palo Alto, California 94303
Thursday, June 23, 2011 20:21 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Following an uneventful flight, the pilot entered the airport traffic pattern midfield for his intended runway. While turning from the base leg to the final leg of the pattern, he decided that the airplane was slightly low and advanced the throttle forward; the engine did not respond, and the airplaneā€™s descent rate continued. The pilot then realized that the engine had lost power. He immediately began troubleshooting the loss of engine power and continued toward the runway. Attempts to start the engine were unsuccessful and, realizing that he would not be able to reach the runway, he initiated a forced landing to an open marsh area south of the airport. During the landing roll, the nosewheel dug into the ground and the airplane nosed over. During the postaccident engine examination the engine was run successfully and no mechanical anomalies or failures that would have precluded normal operation were noted; the smell of fuel was present at the accident site. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons during the landing approach over unsuitable terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/2011
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2021
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Palo Alto
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94303
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372740N
Event Location Longitude 1220654W
Event Location Airport Palo Alto
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 7
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2024 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID PAO
Elevation of weather observation facility 7
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.8
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29623
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 Feb 7 2012 1:24PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N222MF
NTSB Number WPR11LA284
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 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S9391
Certified Max Gross Weight 2558
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 42
Airframe Hours 3695
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name AVIOLEASE LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19808
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Advanced Flyers
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Palo Alto
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Concord
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2000
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PAO
Destination City Palo Alto
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2011 2:21PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --