Zenith 601HDS N601G

Summary

On 14 June 2003 at about 17:20 local time, a Zenith 601HDS registered N601G was involved in an accident near Immokalee, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one 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

14 June 2003 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Immokalee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Immokalee (APF)

Coordinates

26.4331, -81.4008

Aircraft

Zenith 601HDS

Registration

N601G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Naples → Immokalee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA03LA123

1 person had minor injuries.

Excessive rotor distributor shaft clearance that resulted in damage to the distributor rotor, a loss of ignition, the engine ceasing to operate. This resulted in a forced landing to unsuitable terrain and the airplane nosing over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/owner stated that he is the builder of the airplane, and was in cruise flight, at an altitude of 2,900 feet, operating on the flywheel-triggered ignition system, collecting performance data. He said he began a descent, and at 2,600 feet, about 5.6 miles from his destination, the engine suddenly ceased operating. He said he switched to the distributor ignition, observed normal fuel pressure and verified that there was adequate fuel in the header tank. He said he then communicated his emergency to air traffic control, and again attempted to restart the engine using the starter with both ignitions, but was unable to get the engine to start. He then made an approach to land in a field and during the landing rollout, the airplane flipped over due to the soft muddy soil, incurring substantial damage to the aircraft. The pilot/owner stated that after the accident he examined the airplane to determine the reason the engine had ceased to operate, and he found that the distributor rotor had failed due to excessive shaft clearance. He said that the excessive clearance had allowed the rotor to wobble in its rotation, and contact the pins within the cap, which had resulted in the metal contact at the top, separating from the plastic base.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.