CEN11LA543
2011-08-03 · Washington, Iowa, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport AWG
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On August 3, 2011, about 1743 central daylight time, an Aero Commander S2R, N1735S, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Washington, Iowa. The pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the engine. The aircraft was registered to and operated by Cat Aviation, Inc, of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight was originating from the Washington Municipal Airport (AWG), Washington, Iowa, when the accident occurred. The pilot reported that the airplane's engine stopped producing power during climb out after takeoff. The airplane impacted terrain as the pilot was attempting to avoid a house during the forced landing. According to maintenance records, the most recent maintenance performed on the airplane was an annual inspection on January 17, 2011. A postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed crankshaft and accessory system continuity. The magnetos and fuel system could not be tested due to impact damage. No preimpact anomalies were noted during the examination that would explain the loss of engine power. The pilot reported that the airplane's engine stopped producing power during climb after takeoff. The airplane impacted terrain as the pilot was attempting to avoid a house during the forced landing. A postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed crankshaft and accessory system continuity. The magnetos and fuel system could not be tested due to impact damage. No preimpact anomalies were noted during the examination that would explain the loss of engine power. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.
- C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2011_CEN11LA543.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). All research papers
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- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences) Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Semantic Scholar 2024 · Article (Defence Science Journal) Modelling of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance Using HFACS ME Human Factors Analysis and Classification System Maintenance Extension and Bayesian Network
Aircraft maintenance is a complex task involving a skilled human workforce, spare parts, and various other resources. Human factors are an inherent element of the human workforce.
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In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER) Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…