Piper PA-18-150 N4069Z

Summary

On 12 March 2000 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N4069Z was involved in an accident near Belen, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 March 2000 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Belen, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

34.6500, -106.7701

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N4069Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA056

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to low cylinder compression from an open exhaust valve, and the pilot's failure to lean the fuel mixture.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot received his private pilot's license earlier that morning and was taking his brother for a ride. He said that shortly after he lifted off from an abandoned 800-foot airstrip (elevation unknown, but an airport 7 miles southeast of the accident site is at 5,194 feet msl) but using a short-field takeoff technique (full flaps), the engine began to lose power, dropping about 500 to 700 rpm (revolutions per minute). When he leveled off to maintain airspeed, the engine 'shut down completely.' Because flaps were still extended and airspeed in the flare was low, the airplane 'kept coming down.' A hard landing ensued, shearing off the landing gear and bending the engine mounts and propeller. The mixture control was found in the FULL RICH position. There was a tail wheel strike mark in the dirt 168 feet from the runway threshold. Just beyond were two dirt berms that had been struck by the airplane's main landing gear. The engine was partially disassembled. The no. 2 cylinder compression ratio was 45/80, due to exhaust blow-by.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.