Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. George, Utah 84770
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 9:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that, while in cruise flight, the engine’s exhaust gas temperature was hotter than normal and that the fuel flow was lower than normal. Suddenly, all engine power was lost and despite multiple attempts, he was unable to restart the engine. During the subsequent forced landing, the pilot landed the airplane gear up on a road. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the mixture control arm was loose on the control shaft and the nut that secured the control arm to the shaft was loose. The mixture control arm machined chamfer had formed splines and exhibited deformation and movement of material. The nut and control arm mating surfaces showed corresponding rub marks. It is likely that the loose mixture control arm and the vibration of the engine allowed for the mixture control shaft to rotate to an idle cut-off position, thus resulting in the loss of engine power. No evidence of any additional mechanical malfunctions was found during the engine examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power due to the loose mixture control arm.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/21/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City St. George
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84770
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 364402N
Event Location Longitude 1133226W
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 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 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) 100
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31742
NTSB Notification Source LAX 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 Aug 27 2013 4:45PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N866P
NTSB Number WPR12LA147
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 BEECH
Aircraft Model 35-C33
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number CD-1023
Certified Max Gross Weight 3050
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 Oct 19 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 22
Airframe Hours 5862
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name FUNKE ROBERT J L
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City St. George
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84770
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name FUNKE ROBERT J L
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City St. George
Operator State UT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 84770
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SGU
Departure City St. George
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 905
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FFZ
Destination City Mesa
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 27 2013 4:45PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --