- Date
- October 16, 1988, 10:17 local (17:17 UTC)
- Place
- Sedona, AZ
- Injuries
- 5 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4113RPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881016047599A
- Case key
- 26182
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
Total failure of the magneto's impulse coupling which resulted in a shearing of the crankshaft's idler gear teeth and the crankshaft dowel pin.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt & 4 fare-paying pax were enroute to the grand canyon national park for aerial sightseeing. An internal failure of the left magneto (mag) resulted in a total loss of engine pwr. The acft collided with terrain & was destroyed by ground fire. The mag was subject to AD 78-09-07 R3 which addressed impulse coupling failure. Upon exam it was not found to have been in compliance with the AD. The air taxi company had two employees; an owner/president/pilot and a director of maintenance/mechanic. The mechanic acknowledeged he failed to follow the currect guideline in the correct AD. As a result, the impulse coupling jammed when the flyweight to stop pin clearance became zero. This action sheared off teeth on the engine's crankshaft gear & dowel pin.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4113R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-40432
- Airframe hours
- 7,026
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Northern Arizona Aircraft
- Registered owner
- Robert P Jackson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 29, 1988 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- SEZ · Sedona, AZ
- Destination
- SEZ · Sedona, AZ
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
- 58
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 25,800 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.