Cessna 180 N8678X

Summary

On 2 October 2020 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N8678X was involved in an accident near Princeton, Oregon, United States. 2 people were 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

2 October 2020 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Princeton, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

42.7459, -118.6738

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N8678X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1961

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moses Lake → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA008

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to enrichen the mixture, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that while completing a low reconnaissance over a road, about 100 feet above ground level (agl), he added full throttle. The engine rpm temporarily increased, but immediately thereafter, the engine “coughed” and was only producing partial power. During the subsequent emergency landing, the landing gear broke off and the airplane sustained damage to the left wing, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. A postaccident examination revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The mixture knob was located at a very lean setting and the pilot stated that he may have forgotten to enrich the mixture from its cruise setting. The engine likely was not able to produce full power due to the excessively lean mixture setting.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.