Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 152 near Glendale, AZ — 2009-04-15

Final reportWPR09LA196
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Date
2009-04-15
Location
Glendale, AZ, USA
Airport
GEU
Aircraft
CESSNA 152
Registration
N6285M
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Descent

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to the failure of both magnetos resulting from an improper maintenance repair by maintenance personnel.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student were returning to the airport when the airplane's engine began running rough. The roughness became increasingly worse, and finally the engine "sputtered briefly" and lost power. The flight instructor was unable to restart the engine, and he initiated a forced landing onto a nearby grassy field. During the landing roll, the airplane impacted a chain link fence, resulting in structural damage to the right wing. During postaccident examination of the airplane, several attempts were made to start and run the engine; however, it would not start. The magnetos were removed from the engine and tested, and neither produced spark. Disassembly of the left magneto revealed the failure of the secondary coil. Disassembly of the right magneto revealed that the point gap was set incorrectly and that the lead connector from the magneto's coil to the points was loose. Review of maintenance records revealed that the magnetos were removed 3 tachometer hours prior to the accident; new points, capacitors, and gaskets were installed and the magnetos were reinstalled on the engine.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Engine roughness should have prompted an earlier landing attempt.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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