Van's VANS RV-10 N569JC

Summary

On 21 September 2019 at about 00:50 local time, a Van's VANS RV-10 registered N569JC was involved in an accident near Lancaster, Texas, United States. 4 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

21 September 2019 at 00:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Lancaster, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Lancaster Regional (LNC)

Coordinates

32.5775, -96.7175

Aircraft

Van's VANS RV-10

Registration

N569JC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lancaster → Lancaster

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CEN19LA326

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power due to a faulty magneto/ignition system, which resulting in a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Just after takeoff following a touch-and-go landing, the engine backfired and lost partial power. The pilot decided that he could not land on the remaining runway, so he continued to climb the airplane, raised the flaps, and increased airspeed. The manifold pressure continued to decrease despite the pilot’s application of full throttle, and the pilot attempted to return to the airport, but had insufficient altitude, and conducted a forced landing to a field. The nose landing gear sheared off, and the main landing gear collapsed. Both wings sustained substantial damage. Examination of the engine and accessories revealed that the left magneto fired on only 3 of its 6 terminals. The airplane was equipped an electronic ignition system that was coupled to the magnetos. The system created multiple sparks over a longer duration and synchronized timing between the two magnetos. This synchronization was accomplished by using the left magneto as a trigger for the complete system. When the electronic ignition was operating, it relied solely on the left magneto points to fire both magnetos with an enhanced multi-spark. If the left magneto failed or deteriorated, then the complete ignition cycle would be compromised. The degraded functionality of the left magneto was likely the cause of the partial engine power loss.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.