# NTSB CEN13LA571: Cessna 182J, N3078F, Santa Teresa, NM, September 29, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 29, 2013, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Santa Teresa, NM - Coordinates: 31.839729, -106.680145 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8397&lon=-106.6801&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 3, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - NTSB case key (mKey): 88227 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN13LA571 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88227/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13LA571 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because no anomalies were found during the postaccident engine examination. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01050000): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 151 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01050000/cases.md) - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was making a circling descent to the airport after dropping parachutists and that he used carburetor heat during the descent. As the pilot was on the base leg of the landing pattern, close to the turn onto the final leg, the engine lost power. The pilot landed the airplane short of the runway, and the firewall buckled and the nose landing gear bent forward. The operator later functionally tested the engine and it operated normally. ## Factual narrative On September 29, 2013, about 1530 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182J, N3078F, landed short of the runway at Dona Ana County Airport (5T6), Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after the engine lost power. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a skydiving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from 5T6 about 1505. The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he was returning to the airport after parachutists had exited the airplane. During the descent, he momentarily opened throttle several times to "clear" the engine. Carburetor heat was on throughout the descent. When he went to advance the throttle to level off in the traffic pattern, the engine failed to respond. The pilot immediately turned towards runway 28. The airplane landed short of the runway. Post-accident inspection revealed the firewall was buckled and the nose landing gear was bent forward. According to the operator, the engine was functionally tested and it operated normally. It was his opinion that when the pilot advanced the throttle to level off, the engine "loaded up" and failed to respond. ## Aircraft - Registration: N3078F (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 182J - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18257178 - Year built: 1968 - Airframe hours: 2333 - Engines: Continental Motors O-470-R 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Skydiving, Part 91 - Operator: Robert H. Kearn - Registered owner: Robert H. Kearn - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 30, 2013, 20 hours before - Departed: 5T6, Santa Teresa, NM - Destination: 5T6, Santa Teresa, NM - Airport: 5T6, Dona Ana County, runway 28, 8,500 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review September 16, 2013; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 310 total, 6 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.11 inHg - Observed at: KELP, 28 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130929019469A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130929019469A), Sep 29, 2013: Cessna 182J, Santa Teresa, NM, Substantial damage. On September 29, 2013 at 1530MDT a Cessna 182 N3078F [privacy data omitted], landed short of runway 28 at satnta Teresa airport (5T6) Santa Teresa, new Mexico,… 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. --- 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.