# Accident 20040125015359A: Cessna 120, Lonoke, AR, January 25, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 25, 2004, 18:15 local time
- Place: Lonoke, AR
- Airport: Country Air Estates Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8139° N, 92.0000° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8139&lon=-92.0000&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1961V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1961V-2012-08-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 120 (registry code 2071402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-120) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 120
- Reported engine: CONT C85*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 375 total, 227 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW04LA065](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA065) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040125015359A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JANUARY 25, 2004, AT 1814 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 120 TAIL WHEEL EQUIPPED SINGLE-ENGINE AIRPLANE, N1961V, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AT THE COUNTRY AIR ESTATES AIRPORT, NEAR LONOKE, ARKANSAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE, WAS NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT. TWILIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM THE STUTTGART MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, NEAR STUTTGART, ARKANSAS, AT AN UNKNOWN TIME AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE NORTH LITTLE ROCK MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, NEAR LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. DURING A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, HE "HEARD THREE LOUD KNOCKS" FOLLOWED BY A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. HE INITIATED A FORCED LANDING TO AN UNLIT AIRFIELD. THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING FINAL APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 36, THE AIRPLANE WAS HIGH AND HE "HAD TO SLIP THE AIRPLANE TO LAND." DURING THE LANDING ROLL, HE NOTICED A TREE LINE AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY AND ATTEMPTED TO TURN THE AIRPLANE TO THE LEFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A DITCH, NOSED OVER, AND CAME TO REST INVERTED. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, REVEALED THE LEFT FORWARD WING SPAR WAS BENT, THE VERTICAL STABILIZER SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, AND THE FUSELAGE, AFT OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, WAS WRINKLED. IT WAS DETERMINED BY THIS INSPECTOR, THE ENGINE HAD A CYLINDER THAT WAS NOT FIRING BUT I COULD NOT FIND OUT WHICH ONE WITHOUT A COMPRESSION TEST.

## 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 FTW04LA065](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA065), Jan 26, 2004: Cessna 120 (N1961V), Lonoke, AR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the dusk lighting conditions and unlit airfield.

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.

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