Aviation Crash Map

Colonial C-1 N260B

23 June 1989 · Bremerton, Washington, United States · Fatal

Summary

On 23 June 1989 at about 22:19 local time, a Colonial C-1 registered N260B, operated by John Wells Aviation Service, was involved in an accident near Bremerton, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 22:19
Classification
Accident
Location
Bremerton, Washington, United States
Nearest airport
Bremerton (PWT)
Coordinates
46.5300, -122.1399
Aircraft
Colonial C-1
Registration
N260B
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
John Wells Aviation Service
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Instructional
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Bremerton → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Destroyed
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
SEA89FA118

People

1 person died.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
2 1 1 0 0

Probable cause

MALFUNCTION OF BOTH MAGNETOS DUE TO DETERIORATION OF THE COILS, WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: AN INADEQUATE AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE (NO CALENDAR TIME LIMITS), AND THE LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN (ROUGH/UNEVEN) IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

ABOUT 9 MIN AFTER TAKEOFF, AS THE PLTS WERE MNVRG ON A LOCAL TRAINING FLT, THE ENG LOST POWER. AN EMERG LNDG WAS MADE IN THE ONLY AVAILABLE PLACE, A CLEAR CUT AREA OF AN EVERGREEN FOREST. DURING THE LNDG, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH ROUGH TERRAIN & A STUMP. FUNCTIONAL TESTS REVEALED THAT BOTH MAGNETOS WOULD PRODUCE A SPARK AT AMBIENT TEMP, BUT THEY WOULD NOT OPERATE WHEN HEATED TO NORMAL OPERATING TEMP. BEFORE THIS FLT, THE 1957 MODEL ACFT HAD BEEN IN STORAGE FOR AN EXTDD PERIOD OF TIME. RECORDS SHOWED THAT AN ANNUAL INSPN HAD BEEN PERFORMED ON 4/3/87 AT 1294.3 HRS OF SVC. THE NEXT ANNUAL INSPN WAS JUST BEFORE THE ACDNT FLT AT 1294.8 HRS. THE COILS IN THE BENDIX S4LN-20 SERIES MAGNETOS INSTALLED IN THE ACFT WERE REQUIRED TO BE REPLACED BEFORE 2000 HRS TIME-IN-SVC IAW AD 73-07-04 (ISSUED IN 1973) & BENDIX SVC BUL #560A. THE AD HAD NOT BEEN COMPLIED WITH. NEITHER THE AD NOR THE SVC BUL SPECIFIED A CALENDAR TIME LIMIT FOR MANDATORY REPLACEMENT OF THE MAGNETO COILS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Colonial C-1 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
13 Mar 1982 Colonial C-1
N254B
Grand Prairie, Texas, United States M J Brundage No injuries -
11 Dec 1982 Colonial C-1
N256B
Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
no coordinates
William J. Gras No injuries -
13 Jul 1996 Colonial C-1
N248B
Halls Crossing, Utah, United States - Minor injuries -
28 Jul 1968 Colonial C-1
N257B
Gardenville, New York, United States
no coordinates
- No injuries -
5 Jul 2015 Colonial C 1
N257B
Chico, Texas, United States Harold D Love Serious injuries -

All 6 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
18 Nov 1989 Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415D
N3354H
Vancouver, Washington, United States - No injuries -
18 Nov 1989 Cessna 140
N2070V
Amboy, Washington, United States Larry Cahoon No injuries -
21 Nov 1989 Cessna 172
N63496
Bremerton, Washington, United States Flight Tech, Inc Minor injuries -
29 Nov 1989 Cessna A-185-F
N1920Q
Seattle, Washington, United States - No injuries -
29 Nov 1989 Hiller UH-12E
N9762C
Raymond, Washington, United States Glacier Helicopters No injuries -
11 Dec 1989 Aero Commander 600 S-2D
N1767S
Walla Walla, Washington, United States - No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States