La Belle Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

La Belle, Florida 33935
Saturday, April 5, 2014 10:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot/owner/builder reported that at 30 to 50 feet above the runway in a steep climb after takeoff, the engine stopped producing power. The airplane "nosed over quickly" and landed hard on the nose wheel, bounced, and landed hard on the nose wheel again, collapsing it, and causing substantial damage to the firewall and airframe. Examination of the airplane's engine by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed that both magnetos were improperly grounded at installation. The installation as found resulted in a degraded performance, and over time, resulted in a complete ignition failure and total loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed after a total loss of engine power at takeoff, which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the pilot/owner/builder's improper installation of the magnetos which resulted in the engine power loss.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/5/2014
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City La Belle
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33935
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 264426N
Event Location Longitude 0812542W
Event Location Airport La Belle Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X14
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 20
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation 953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID RSW
Elevation of weather observation facility 31
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 33024
NTSB Notification Source SROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 14 2014 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N410KT
NTSB Number ERA14CA191
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 TERRY F KING
Aircraft Model ZENITH 701
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 8565
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Sep 12 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 58
Airframe Hours 58
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KING TERRY F
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FORT DENAUD
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 339350522
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name KING TERRY F
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City FORT DENAUD
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 339350522
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code X14
Departure City La Belle
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code X14
Destination City La Belle
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 14 2014 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 5254
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --