Mooney M-18L N397A

Summary

On 29 September 2006 at about 17:30 local time, a Mooney M-18L registered N397A was involved in an accident near Lexington, Kentucky, United States. One person was 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

29 September 2006 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

38.1317, -83.9417

Aircraft

Mooney M-18L

Registration

N397A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lexington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC06LA231

Nobody was injured.

The failure of both magnetos which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After the airplane reached its cruising altitude of 3,000 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot cycled the magnetos and applied carburetor heat; however, engine power was not regained. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane impacted a fence. Examination of the engine revealed the magnetos did not produce spark when tested. The magnetos were disassembled and it was noted that the left magneto had a shorted condenser and the right magneto points were almost closed. The right magneto points were properly adjusted; the magneto was tested and produced spark. According to the aircraft maintenance records, the magnetos were last overhauled 40 years prior to the accident, and had accumulated 500 hours of operation since then.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.