# Accident 19990103000109A: Cessna 140, Santa Barbara, CA, January 3, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 3, 1999, 16:27 local time
- Place: Santa Barbara, CA
- Airport: Santa Barbara Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.4401° N, 119.8463° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4401&lon=-119.8463&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3585V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3585V-2000-08-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 140 (registry code 2071602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 140
- Reported engine: LYC O235C1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,044 total, 800 in this make and model, 23 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA067) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990103000109A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19)ON JANUARY 3, 1999, AT 1625 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 140, N3585V, NOSED OVER AND CAME TO REST INVERTED IN A MARSH FOLLOWING A TOUCH-AND-GO LANDING ATTEMPT AT THE SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN SANTA PAULA, CALIFORNIA, AT 1550, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. (-23) NO NARRATIVE. (.4) THE AIRPLANE WAS PERFORMING TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS AND HAD JUST LIFTED OFF TO CLIMB ON THE RUNWAY HEADING WHEN THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY LOST POWER AT 150 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO EXECUTE A TURN AND LOWER THE NOSE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED.  THE ENGINE WAS FALTERING AND PRODUCING PARTIAL POWER, THEN CYCLING AND PRODUCING NO POWER.  THE PILOT DID NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE TO MAKE THE RUNWAY AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER AND CAME TO REST IN A MARSH LOCATED NEAR THE RUNWAY.  EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE FOUND THAT THE RIGHT MAGNETO TO ENGINE TIMING WAS 17 DEGREES BEFORE TOP DEAD CENTER OF CYLINDER NUMBER ONE.  THE LYCOMING ENGINE DATA PLATE SPECIFIES THA T THE ENGINE TO MAGNETO TIMING BE SET AT 25 DEGREES. THE LEFT MAGNETO WAS INOPERATIVE AND FURTHER INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT THE PRIMARY COIL CIRCUIT WAS INTERNALLY SHORTED.  REVIEW OF THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS DISCLOSED THAT THE LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS ACCOMPLISHED ON MAY 5, 1998, ABOUT 40 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.  NO ENTRIES WERE FOUND DETAILING MAINTENANCE ON THE MAGNETOS AFTER THE ANNUAL.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX99LA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA067), Jan 4, 1999: Cessna 140 (N3585V), Santa Barbara, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A loss of engine power due to an internal left magneto coil primary circuit short. Factors were insufficient altitude and inadequate terrain to make an emergency landing.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.