Cessna 150 N7922E

Summary

On 10 September 2010 at about 17:15 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N7922E was involved in an accident near Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 September 2010 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States

Coordinates

38.0228, -81.1186

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N7922E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fayetteville → Johson City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA475

2 people were seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to the failure of the left magneto system’s distributor gear as a result of the improper maintenance of the magnetos by maintenance personnel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during the initial climb the airplane engine's rpm gauge indicated 1900 and the airplane would not gain altitude which resulted in a forced landing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed fuel in the fuel tanks and carburetor system. All cylinders had compression when checked. The right magneto developed sparks to all corresponding plugs. The left magneto produced spark to one plug only. A teardown examination of the left magneto revealed the distributor gear had 12 gear teeth sheared from the disk. Review of the engine's maintenance records showed that the ignition system had several inspections as required by airworthiness directives and service bulletins (SB) throughout its time in service. The distributor gear was required to be replaced with a redesigned gear as outlined in SB658; however, both magnetos had the old-style distributor gear, dating to before 1978. Additionally, the gear tooth separation was noted starting and ending at the magneto timing block location marker. The manufacturer of the magneto warned not to use a gear holding tool during installation, which may cause hidden damage to the distributor gear and subsequent engine failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.