- Date
- December 2, 2014, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4350DNanchang CJ-6
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 6, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20141202023489A
- Case key
- 90454
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
The total loss of engine power during takeoff following a touch-and-go landing for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
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 airline transport pilot was performing touch-and-go landings. The preflight, run-up, and takeoff were all normal. The pilot reported that, after the first landing, she added power to take off, and once there was no usable runway remaining, she raised the landing gear. At 100 ft above ground level, the engine went silent. The pilot picked a clear area to fly toward and lowered the landing gear. Witnesses stated that the airplane landed hard, bounced, and then landed again. The airplane subsequently impacted a trailer and a large pole and then came to rest inverted. During the accident sequence, the right wing was separated from the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On December 2, 2014, at 1630 mountain standard time, a Nanchang CJ-6A, N4350D, lost engine power and landed hard at Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona. The airplane was registered to Lang Aviation Support Services, LLC, and was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 local personal flight. The airline transport pilot and single passenger received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated that she intended to perform touch-and-goes in the landing pattern. The preflight, run up, and takeoff were all normal. After the first landing, she added power to takeoff, and once there was no usable runway remaining, she raised the landing gear. At 100 feet above ground level, the engine went silent. The pilot picked a clear area to fly towards and lowered the landing gear. Witnesses stated that the airplane landed hard, bounced, landed a second time, impacted a trailer, a large pole, and then came to rest inverted. During the accident sequence the right wing was separated from the fuselage. First responders shut off the fuel and magneto switches. On December 16, 2014, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector and a certified airframe and power plant mechanic examined the airplane and engine. The engine crankshaft was rotated, and the carburetor, fuel pump, and spark plugs were examined. The fuel pump and carburetor contained fuel. Nothing that would have precluded normal engine operation was identified.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4350D
- Reported as
- Nanchang CJ-6 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2232013
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 3,908.1
- Engine
- Vedeneyev M-14P, 360 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 2, 2014
- Departed
- KFFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Destination
- KFFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Airport
- KFFZ · Falcon Field Airport, runway 22L, 5,101 × 100 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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 4,323 total · 182 in this make and model · 1,473 as pilot in command · 109 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 2.7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KFFZ
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 17, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 MB 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.