Luscombe 8 N2435K

Summary

On 29 May 2012 at about 19:20 local time, a Luscombe 8 registered N2435K, operated by Nicholas M Cain, was involved in an accident near Twentynine Palms, California, 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 May 2012 at 19:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Twentynine Palms, California, United States

Nearest airport

Twentynine Palms Self Airport (TNP)

Coordinates

34.1403, -115.9881

Aircraft

Luscombe 8

Registration

N2435K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Nicholas M Cain

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Twentynine Palms → Big Bear City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA264

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power during initial climb for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before departure, the pilot refueled the right wing tank with 11.34 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel; the left wing tank contained 12.5 gallons at the time of takeoff. After taking off and while in a shallow climb, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that after switching tanks and confirming that the mixture was FULL RICH, there was no change in the power. He then selected a dirt road and made an emergency landing during which the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. During the onsite postaccident examination on the day after the accident, no fuel was present at the accident site; however fuel could drain from the filler cap. Examination of the engine found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The investigation was unable to determine the cause of the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.