Orr LONG-EZ N321EZ

Summary

On 31 December 2004 at about 21:30 local time, a Orr LONG-EZ registered N321EZ was involved in an accident near Yucca Valley, California, 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

31 December 2004 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Yucca Valley, California, United States

Coordinates

34.1278, -116.4078

Aircraft

Orr LONG-EZ

Registration

N321EZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Punta Pescadero → Chino

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA057

Nobody was injured.

a loss of engine power due to ignition system failure due to rain water grounding/shorting of the magneto switches.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with power lines during a forced landing on a road following a total loss of engine power. The pilot entered a mountain pass area east of his destination at 3,500 feet mean sea level, westbound. Due to lowering ceilings, turbulence, and rain, the pilot performed an 180-degree reverse course to the high desert, and another possible route into the Los Angeles basin and his destination. Soon after the course reversal, the pilot noted an engine sound decrease and loss of engine rpm. As he reached the edge of the high desert, the engine shutdown abruptly. He turned toward a nearby airport, and observed a popped circuit breaker for the electronic ignition system. He reset the breaker and the engine went to full power for about 5 or 10 seconds, and then the breaker popped again. He turned off the electronic ignition system to check the redundancy of the left magneto, which was also inoperative. The pilot reported that during the course reversal while in the rain showers, he observed rainwater entering the cockpit and instrument panel area around the magneto switches and electronic ignition circuit breaker. He felt that the source of the ignition failure was due to the shorting of the magneto switch from the rainwater.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.