Cessna 140 N3585V

Summary

On 4 January 1999 at about 00:27 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N3585V was involved in an accident near Santa Barbara, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 January 1999 at 00:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Barbara, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Barbara Airport (SBA)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N3585V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Paula → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA067

2 people had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to an internal left magneto coil primary circuit short. Factors were insufficient altitude and inadequate terrain to make an emergency landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was performing touch-and-go landings and had just lifted off to climb on the runway heading when the engine abruptly lost power at 150 feet above ground level. The pilot attempted to execute a turn and lower the nose to maintain airspeed. The engine was faltering and producing partial power, then cycling and producing no power. The pilot did not have sufficient altitude to make the runway and the airplane nosed over and came to rest in a marsh located near the runway. Examination of the engine found that the right magneto to engine timing was 17 degrees before top dead center of cylinder number one. The Lycoming engine data plate specifies that the engine to magneto timing be set at 25 degrees. The left magneto was inoperative and further investigation found that the primary coil circuit was internally shorted. Review of the maintenance records disclosed that the last annual inspection was accomplished on May 5, 1998, about 40 hours prior to the accident. No entries were found detailing maintenance on the magnetos after the annual.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.