- Date
- January 10, 2013, 17:04 local (Jan 11, 2013, 00:04 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Pleasant, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N571KHeinz Rans S-4 Coyote
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 3, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20130110000279A
- Case key
- 86032
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 during cruise flight for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered.
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
The pilot stated that, after about 30 minutes of flight, he advanced the throttle and the engine went to idle power then stopped. He restarted the engine and determined that it would only operate at idle power before it stopped again. He was flying over rocky terrain and determined that the best option was to ditch the airplane in a nearby river. After ditching the airplane in the river, the pilot swam to shore. The airplane sank and will not be recovered.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that after about 30 minutes of flight he advanced the throttle and the engine went to idle power, then stopped. He restarted the engine and determined that it would only operate at idle power before it stopped again. He was over rocky terrain and determined that the best option was to ditch the airplane in the river he was flying over. After he ditched the airplane in the river, he swam to shore. The airplane sank and will not been recovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N571K
- Reported as
- Heinz Rans S-4 Coyote
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0308336
- Airframe hours
- 57
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Eric P. Heinz
- Registered owner
- Eric P. Heinz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- KP48 · Peoria, AZ
- Destination
- KP48 · Peoria, AZ
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- KP48 · Peoria
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 905 total · 430 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KDVT, 12 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 11, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 589 KB 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.