NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN25LA078
Registry · N749WJ
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
ZENITH STOL CH 750
Year of manufacture
2012 · 13 years old at event
Engine
AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20120823
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA15F6
Registrant of record
MCWETHY WILLIAM R
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot inadvertently moved the ignition key to the off position and broke the key, which resulted in a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that while in cruise flight, he noticed that his heavy keychain was pulling the key out of the ignition switch. He reached down to push the key back in, but inadvertently moved the key to the off position due to the thick glove on his hand, which resulted in a loss of engine power. When he attempted to reinsert the key and restart the engine, the key broke inside the ignition switch. He was unable to use the broken key to restart the engine. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no other mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-(general)-(general)-Unintentional use/operation
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2025_CEN25LA078.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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