Canion Michael W ZODIAC 601XL N577M

Summary

On 20 July 2017 at about 21:45 local time, a Canion Michael W ZODIAC 601XL registered N577M was involved in an accident near Grady, Arkansas, 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

20 July 2017 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Grady, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.0800, -91.7008

Aircraft

Canion Michael W ZODIAC 601XL

Registration

N577M

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Center → Paragould

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA313

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to a lack of ignition resulting from a broken alternator wire.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was conducting a cross-country flight when the experimental amateur-built airplane experienced a loss of engine power; the pilot then conducted a forced landing to a field, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a broken wire to the airplane's alternator; this specific wire supplied electrical power to the alternator field coil. Because the wire was broken, the alternator was rendered inoperative. The pilot would not have been able to detect the broken alternator wire without removing the engine cowl, which is not normally part of a pilot's preflight examination. The airplane's engine had been modified to use an ignition system that operated from the airplane's electrical system, which included a battery and the alternator to maintain the battery's charge. Once the alternator field wire had broken, the ignition system relied completely on the airplane battery's reserve power as the source of ignition power. Once the battery power was depleted, the ignition system could not operate, and the engine lost power due to the lack of ignition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.