- Date
- January 18, 2009, 09:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Ynez, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N532JSSiemer James H Earthstar
- Defining event
- Enroute: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 15, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20090118002049A
- Case key
- 73250
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
A partial loss of engine power due to the rear cylinder's spark plug coming out of the cylinder head.
Findings · 2
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
According to the sport pilot, during cruise flight in his experimental light sport airplane he noted that the two-cylinder engine's cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature gauges decreased in temperature. Thereafter, the number 1 cylinder (rear) stopped producing power, and engine power was partially lost. The pilot made a forced landing on upsloping, rough terrain. During landing, the airplane's forward fuselage buckled. The pilot said that examination of the engine revealed that the spark plug had come out of the engine's rear cylinder head. The pilot had changed the spark plugs about 2.5 hours prior to the mishap.
Factual narrative
According to the sport pilot, during cruise flight in his experimental light sport airplane, he noted that the two-cylinder Hirth 3203 engine's cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature gauges decreased in temperature. Thereafter, the number 1 cylinder (rear) stopped producing power, and engine power was partially lost. The pilot made a forced landing on upsloping, rough terrain. During landing, the airplane's forward fuselage buckled. The pilot said that examination of the engine revealed that the spark plug had come out of the engine's rear cylinder head. The pilot had changed the spark plugs about 2.5 hours prior to the mishap.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N532JS
- Reported as
- Siemer James H Earthstar
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 010107
- Airframe hours
- 245
- Engine
- Hirth 3203, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- IZA · Santa Ynez, CA
- Destination
- SZP · Santa Paula, CA
- Airport
- IZA · Santa Ynez, runway 26, 2,804 × 75 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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- December 21, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 82 total · 9 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Observed at
- IZA, 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.