# NTSB LAX06LA109: SIAI-Marchetti S.205/22R, N981WA, Phoenix, AZ, February 12, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 12, 2006, 12:05 local (19:05 UTC) - Place: Phoenix, AZ - Coordinates: 33.75, -112 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7500&lon=-112.0000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 29, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 63224 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06LA109 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63224/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA109 ## Probable cause a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, takeoff - initial climb - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing after takeoff - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - terrain condition - ground - object - wall/barricade ## Analysis The airplane collided with obstacles and terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. Between 400 and 500 feet above ground level (agl) during the takeoff climb, the engine lost power, started again, and then lost power again. The airplane made an emergency landing on a roadway and the left wing clipped the median. An initial examination of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation except that both of the magnetos did not spark at any post when manually rotated. A second examination of the magnetos occurred at the manufacturer's facilities. They mounted the magnetos to a test stand. The magnetos produced a blue spark across a 7 mm gap through the full range of test bench rpm. ## Factual narrative On February 12, 2006, about 1205 mountain standard time, a SIAI-Marchetti S.205/22R, N981WA, experienced a loss of engine power in the takeoff initial climb and collided with obstacles and terrain near Phoenix, Arizona. A private individual was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries, and one passenger was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The local personal flight departed Phoenix Deer Valley Airport about 1203. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The approximate global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the primary wreckage were 33 degrees 45 minutes north latitude and 112 degrees 0 minutes west longitude. Between 400 and 500 feet above ground level (agl) during the takeoff climb, the engine quit, started again, and then quit again. The left wing clipped the median during an emergency landing on a roadway. The engine was a Franklin 6A-350-C1, serial number 5520-3. Investigators examined the wreckage at Air Transport, Phoenix, Arizona, on April 25, 2006, under the supervision of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Investigators removed the engine. They slung it from a hoist, and removed the top spark plugs. All spark plugs were clean with no mechanical deformation. The spark plug electrodes were elliptical and gray, which corresponded to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. A borescope inspection revealed no mechanical deformation on the valves, cylinder walls, or internal cylinder head. Investigators manually rotated the crankshaft with the propeller. The crankshaft rotated freely, and the valves moved approximately the same amount of lift in firing order. The gears in the accessory case turned freely. Investigators obtained thumb compression on all cylinders in firing order. Investigators manually rotated the magnetos, and neither magneto produced spark at any post. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) sent the magnetos to Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM). TCM personnel examined the magnetos under the supervision of the IIC at the factory in Mobile, Alabama, on March 2, 2007. The left-hand magneto was intact and undamaged. The drive gear was secure, and the teeth were undamaged. The magneto shaft turned freely by hand, and the impulse coupling engaged. The distributor block, contact points, and condenser were intact and undamaged; their analyst indicated that they exhibited normal operating signatures. The analyst installed the magneto on a test bench, and it produced a blue spark across a 7 mm gap through the full range of test bench rpm. The right-hand magneto was intact and undamaged. The drive gear was secure, and the teeth were undamaged. The magneto shaft turned freely by hand. The distributor block, contact points, and condenser were intact and undamaged. The contact point gap was below the minimum specification. The analyst installed the magneto on a test bench, and it produced a blue spark across a 7 mm gap through the full range of test bench rpm. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N981WA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N981WA-2009-08-24), registration cancelled 2009-08-24, S/N 371, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SIAI-Marchetti S.205/22R - Registry model: [Siai-Marchetti S.205/22R](https://openairdocs.org/model/siai-marchetti-s-205-22r) (registry code 8120412) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Franklin 6V 350 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/franklin-6v-350-series) (registry code 27043, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 371 - Airframe hours: 1844 - Engines: Franklin 6A-350-C1 220 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Randy Albert - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: DVT, Phoenix, AZ ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 61; injuries: minor; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; seat: left; flight hours: 4,500 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 1 °F - Altimeter: 30.23 inHg - Observed at: PHX ## 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 20060212006269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060212006269A), Feb 12, 2006: Mrchti S20522R, Phoenix, AZ, Destroyed. (-23) N981WA departed from runway 07L at deer valley airport (dvt) on a pleasure flight destined for sedona, AZ. At approximately 700 to 1000' AGL N981WA… 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.