Thursday, March 14, 2013

Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N1421V: Accident occurred February 02, 2013 in Wilcox, Arizona

A aircraft flight across the Arizona desert suddenly turned into a life threatening situation for a Bideford couple when the aircraft's engine failed and they started plummeting to the ground. 

Ian and Karen Luggar set off for their flight while on a three-month trip to America.

The couple, who run a catering trailer on Northam Burrows during the summer months, have been visiting America for the past 13 years but this was the first time they had taken a light aircraft trip.

They were taken by their friend Michael Owen, a former district attorney in Arizona who has a pilot's license, on his privately owned, Cessna 172. They took off on February 2 at 9am from Benson and began on a circular route with a stop-off at a casino in Coolidge before heading over the Aravaipa Canyon.


It was while they were flying over the canyon at 6,500ft that the engine first failed. The pilot managed to restart the engine but it then cut out again.


Ian, 55, said: "You could tell something was wrong when you could see the propeller, which is at the front of the plane.

"Before we had taken off I was worried the propeller would stop us being able to take photos but Michael had said it moves so quickly you can't see it.

"When we could see it, it didn't look good, I thought it was a bit of a joke. I soon realized it wasn't a joke."

Michael was then trying to control the plane, which had essentially turned into a glider.

By this time they were over the Coronado National Forest and Michael had spotted two circular fields for a crash landing.

Ian said the pilot chose the field without a central steel irrigation system, which they could have hit while landing.

He said: "We glided into the field but as we touched down one of the wheels caught and it flipped us over, so the plane was upside down.

"When we came to a stop we were all just silent. I was in the back and I checked the other two were ok.

"We were all fine, I think we were all in shock. We then had to try and get out. We all had to help each other get released from the straps.

"Once we were outside we could see there was a building up on the hillside so we tried making for that but then the sons of a nearby farmer had caught up with us.

"The farmer had seen us coming down from his garden and thought we looked like we were in trouble so he sent his sons.

"I think they were surprised to see us alive. They took us back to the ranch and the nearest sheriff was called. He took about two hours to arrive and took all our details.

"The farmer then drove us back to meet a friend of ours in Benson. We ended up getting back at about midnight."

Ian explained if the farmer had not seen them then they would have had a day's walk in order to get any help as there was no mobile phone signal where they crash landed.

Karen, 56, added: "The strangest thing was that once we had got back it didn't bother us as much as we thought.

"We thought we might have seen our lives flash before our eyes but perhaps it was because we survived, that never happened."

Story and Photos:  http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk


http://www.flickr.com/photos

NTSB Identification: WPR13LA113
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, February 02, 2013 in Wilcox, AZ
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N1421V
Injuries: 3 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On February 2, 2013 about 1630 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172M, N1421V, collided with rough terrain following a total loss of engine power during cruise flight and subsequent off-airport forced landing in Aravaipa Canyon, 26 miles north-northwest of Wilcox, Arizona. The pilot and 2 passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The airplane was registered to, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight; no flight plan was filed. The accident flight was the last leg of a multi-leg cross country flight that originated from Globe, Arizona with a planned destination of Benson Municipal Airport, Benson, Arizona.

The pilot stated that about 2,000 feet above ground level, the engine suddenly lost power. He switched the fuel selector handle from the 'Both' position to the 'Right' tank position, knowing the right wing gauge read about half a tank. Despite his efforts, the pilot could not restart the engine and the airplane touched down on the rough terrain. The nose landing gear dug into the terrain and the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall and vertical stabilizer and rudder.

The wreckage was relocated to a secure facility for further examination.

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