- Date
- February 29, 2020, 15:34 local (21:34 UTC)
- Place
- Cabool, MO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N601NDZenith CH601
- Defining event
- Enroute: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration; St Louis FSDO, Federal Aviation Administration; Little Rock FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200229003099A
- Case key
- 101016
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to failure of the No. 1 cylinder piston for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the personal flight stated that, after departure, the cockpit filled with smoke and the airplane then experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to return to the departure airport but landed in a field short of the airport runway; the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed the No. 1 piston was broken in two pieces, and the piston crank link was bent. The reason for the failures was unknown.
Factual narrative
On February 29, 2020, at 1534 central standard time, an experimental amateur-built Zodiac 601XLB, N601ND, was involved in an accident near Cabool Memorial Airport (TVB), Cabool, Missouri. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the cockpit "suddenly" filled with black smoke after departing TVB. The engine then sputtered and ceased operating. He attempted to return to TVB but landed in a field short of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed the No. 1 cylinder piston was broken in two pieces, and the piston crank link was bent. The reason for the failures was unknown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N601ND
- Reported as
- Zenith CH601 (XL)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6-6444
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 163
- Engine
- Jabiru 3300A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 7, 2019
- Departed
- TVB · Cabool, MO
- Destination
- VIH · Rolla/Vichy, MO
- Airport
- TVB · Cabool Memorial Airport
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 84
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Last flight review
- February 23, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,024 total · 165 in this make and model · 3,976 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- UNO, 17 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 26, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 83.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.