Peoria Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lake Pleasant, Arizona 85383
Thursday, January 10, 2013 17:04 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that, after about 30 minutes of flight, he advanced the throttle and the engine went to idle power then stopped. He restarted the engine and determined that it would only operate at idle power before it stopped again. He was flying over rocky terrain and determined that the best option was to ditch the airplane in a nearby river. After ditching the airplane in the river, the pilot swam to shore. The airplane sank and will not be recovered.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A partial loss of engine power during cruise flight for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/10/2013
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1704
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Lake Pleasant
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85383
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335526N
Event Location Longitude 1121404W
Event Location Airport Peoria
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KP48
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 1653 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 110
Weather Observation Facility ID KDVT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1478
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
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) 31023
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 11 2013 4:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N571K
NTSB Number WPR13CA092
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Heinz
Aircraft Model Rans S-4 Coyote
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0308336
Certified Max Gross Weight 669
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 57
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Eric P. Heinz
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Phoenix
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85069
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Eric P. Heinz
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Phoenix
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85069
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 KP48
Departure City Peoria
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KP48
Destination City Peoria
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 11 2013 4:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
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 --