Cessna 177B N19113

Summary

On 3 August 1999 at about 21:07 local time, a Cessna 177B registered N19113 was involved in an accident near Tusayan, Arizona, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 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.

Date

3 August 1999 at 21:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Tusayan, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Grand Canyon Natl. Park (GCN)

Coordinates

36.0309, -112.0193

Aircraft

Cessna 177B

Registration

N19113

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Canyon → Big Bear

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99FA262

2 people died.

was the pilot's failure to have available and consult the FAA approved flight manual for performance data and, the high density altitude. Contributing to the accident were the dual magneto and spark plug system issues affecting optimum engine performance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The cross-country flight departed Big Bear, California, with stops in Las Vegas, Nevada, Grand Canyon, Arizona, and returning to Big Bear. The accident departure from Grand Canyon National Park Airport was performed on runway 03; an 8,999-foot runway with a 0.8 percent up gradient (76-foot increase), and a density altitude of 8,800 feet msl. Witnesses reported that the airplane appeared to be slow, and barely cleared trees and buildings while climbing into mildly rising terrain. About 2 miles from the runway, the airplane was seen to roll to the left and descended into trees. The FAA Approved Flight Manual (AFM) for the accident airplane/performance data was not found at the accident site; however, a Cessna 337 Skymaster AFM was found. A California Airport Directory was also recovered. No Grand Canyon Airport information was found at the site other than the Las Vegas Sectional Chart airport information. Examination of the dual magneto revealed internal case corrosion on the left interior of the magneto. The right magneto was timed 22 degrees BTC instead of 25 degrees BTC. Test bench results indicated that the right magneto exhibited a weak spark. The massive electrode spark plugs exhibited a gap in excess of the recommended maximum gap for the plug. Cylinder plugs No. 1 and 2 were fuel sooted, No. 3 appeared lean, and No. 4 was slightly sooted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.