- Date
- November 22, 1992, 13:21 local (21:21 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Maria, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N52AKCessna 421C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921122047569A
- Case key
- 27873
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
1) The internal failure of the left engine, left magneto due to inadequate maintenance and non compliance with the manufacturers service bulletins and recommendations, and 2) the failure of the pilot to attain the proper touchdown point during the landing attempt. Factors in the accident were the inability of the pilot to shut off the left magneto and the false landing gear indications, both for undetermined reasons.
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
Twelve minutes after departure, the left engine began to run rough & vibrate. The pilot said he could not correct the problem & shut the left engine down. No emergency was declared & the pilot told ATC that he would continue to his destination, 210 NM & 1.5 hours away. The pilot overflew 5 airports with runways over 5,000 ft long & a mountain range. The pilot executed a VOR approach & entered an extended downwind pattern. On short final the pilot executed a go around because he did not get any gear down indications. He then maneuvered for a downwind landing on runway 12. The aircraft hit the ground 100 yards short of the runway, then collided with a ditch & the airport fence. An FAA inspector said there were three clear tire tracks from the point of touchdown to the ditch, where the gear was sheared off. He found no problems with the gear system. Exam of the left engine revealed a left magneto internal failure due to lack of lubrication & wear, which caused cylinder cross firing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52AK
- Reported as
- Cessna 421C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 421C0204
- Airframe hours
- 4,384
- Engine
- Continental GTSIO-520-L1B, 375 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Operator
- Farroll Equipment Compnany
- Registered owner
- Farroll Equipment Compnany
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 1992 · 128 hours before
- Departed
- TVL · Lake Tahoe, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- SMX · Santa Maria Public, runway 3, 6,300 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 41
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,512 total · 503 in this make and model · 2,452 as pilot in command · 101 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SMX, 1 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.