Flight CTSW N775CT

Summary

On 26 August 2007 at about 00:20 local time, a Flight CTSW registered N775CT was involved in an accident near St. George, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 August 2007 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

St. George, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

St. George Municipal (SGU)

Coordinates

37.0906, -113.5931

Aircraft

Flight CTSW

Registration

N775CT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salinas → St. George

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07FA240

2 people were seriously injured.

The loss of engine power during approach for an undetermined reason. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just purchased the special light sport airplane and was flying it cross country to his home. He had received several hours of flight training and completed a flight review in the airplane the day before the accident. The accident flight was uneventful until about 20 miles from the destination, at which point the engine began to run rough. The pilot determined that the choke had "worked its way back about 3/4 of an inch." He "eased" the choke off and the engine roughness stopped. The engine lost complete power about 5 miles from the destination as the pilot entered the downwind leg for landing on runway 16. The pilot reported that he attempted to glide to the airport; however, the sink rate was excessive and he located a small clearing in the boulders on the bluff ahead and elected "to stall in vertically rather than to tumble over the rocks horizontally." He intentionally stalled the airplane at an altitude of 10 feet above ground. The airplane impacted the terrain, nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot added that he could have deployed the airplane's BRS parachute (a rocket deployed emergency parachute system), but "chose not to because we could have been blown over the dense population area, very near" to the accident site. Fuel was observed leaking from the wreckage the day after the accident. Initially during post-accident examination, the engine could not be rotated by hand. A broken snap ring was found jamming the gears in the propeller gearbox. According to the engine manufacturer's representative, it is common to find this snap ring broken in engines that have sustained impact damage. The snap ring was replaced and the engine was test run. The engine developed near 100 percent performance. The ignition system was checked and functioned normally. No discrepancies were noted that would have prevented normal engine operation and production of power. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.