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WPR12LA027

2011-11-06 · Yucca Valley, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport L22

Current FAA registration · N64Z

Make / Model
BEECH A36
Year of manufacture
1976 · 35 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19760916
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A86521

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Factual narrative

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On November 6, 2011, about 0955 Pacific standard time (PST), a Beech A36, N64Z, made a forced landing following a loss of engine power at Yucca Valley Airport, Yucca Valley, California. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and private pilot undergoing instruction (PUI) were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The local instructional flight departed Yucca Valley about 0925. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The owner/PUI reported that they were performing a simulated loss of engine power. When he attempted to reapply power, the engine did not respond. They made a forced landing near the airport. During the landing, the right wing struck a road sign, and the landing nose gear separated from the fuselage. The PUI reported that the training flight had departed with approximately 35 gallons of fuel. During the recovery of the airplane, approximately 25 gallons of fuel was drained from both fuel tanks. On November 28, 2011, investigators examined the airplane and engine at Aircraftsman, Inc., Chino, California. The engine field run report is attached to the docket. The engine was inspected and the air induction filter box had sustained impact damage during the forced landing. No other damage to the engine was observed. After removing the damaged propeller a replacement propeller was installed. An external fuel supply was attached to the fuel valve, and the engine was started and ran with no abnormalities noted. During a training flight, the flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction were practicing procedures for a simulated engine failure. According to the pilot receiving instruction, when he attempted to reapply power the engine was unresponsive. They were forced to make an off-airport landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. During the postaccident examination, the engine was test run; no mechanical anomalies were revealed that precluded normal operation. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. 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_WPR12LA027.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, engine failure). All research papers