McHolland GLASTAR N16XP

Summary

On 10 December 2014 at about 20:13 local time, a McHolland GLASTAR registered N16XP, operated by Ronald G Lytton, was involved in an accident near Sheridan, Wyoming, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 2014 at 20:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Sheridan, Wyoming, United States

Nearest airport

Private airstrip (NA)

Coordinates

44.7233, -106.9786

Aircraft

McHolland GLASTAR

Registration

N16XP

Category

Airplane

Year built

1999

Engines

1

Operator

Ronald G Lytton

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sheridan → Sheridan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15LA058

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power while maneuvering at low altitude for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had not flown the airplane in "some time." He added that, on the day of the accident, he performed a full power run-up and that the airplane "felt normal." The takeoff and climbout were normal; however, while the airplane was at 1,200 ft above ground level, the engine began to lose power. During the attempted forced landing, the main landing gear impacted an irrigation pipe, the left wing tip impacted a fence post, and the airplane then slid about 60 ft before coming to rest upright. The pilot reported that, after exiting the airplane, he observed a broken wire on the cowl flap cable, which he believed would have allowed the cowl flap to completely close and then resulted in the engine overheating. However, during a postaccident engine examination, it could not be determined if the wire on the cowl flap broke before or during the impact. The examination revealed no other evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal engine operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.