Accident Overview
On December 10, 2008, at approximately 1440 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172, registration N6461E, struck a power line and subsequently hit the ground in a field about 1/3 mile short of runway 25 at Lompoc Airport in Lompoc, California. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged. The private pilot, the only person on board, was killed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane had departed from Lompoc Airport at an unknown time.
Witness Accounts
Two witnesses working in a field near a power pole saw the airplane approaching from the east at a "very slow" speed about 50 feet above the ground. The aircraft passed between the upper and lower wires and impacted the lower wires, then descended and collided with the ground. Two other witnesses saw the airplane flying eastbound before making a "sharp right turn" to head westbound; one reported that the left wing clipped the power lines as it turned, while the other noted the airplane struck the lower wires during the turn.
Wreckage and Examination
The airplane came to rest nose down on a southwesterly heading approximately 380 feet west of the power line. The lower wires and a support cable were found on the ground west of the power poles, with a piece of cable wrapped around the left main landing gear. The accident site was in a flat, cultivated field; orange marker balls were present on the uppermost wire. During post-recovery examination, the throttle was idle, mixture full rich, and carburetor heat off. Control continuity was established. The fuel selector was in the "BOTH" position, and 8–9 gallons of blue, uncontaminated fuel were drained.
Engine and Propeller Examination
The propeller remained attached; one blade was bent aft about 45 degrees approximately 6 inches from the hub, while the other had minimal damage. Manual rotation of the crankshaft established continuity and thumb compression on all six cylinders. The left magneto produced spark on all leads with impulse coupling engagement; the right magneto did not produce spark and had no impulse coupling engagement. Ignition leads were undamaged but improperly routed. Further testing of the magnetos at a shop revealed that the right magneto did not engage its impulse coupling; at 600 rpm, spark was visible from all leads. The left magneto engaged its coupling and sparked at 1,000 rpm, but not when slowed to 350 rpm. Both impulse couplings showed wear on springs and loose pawls on rivet attachments. All spark plugs tested successfully.
Maintenance Records
The airplane received its most recent annual inspection on December 12, 2007, at an airframe total time of 4,580.8 hours and a tachometer time of 301.8 hours. The engine, a Continental O-300-A-3, had 3,012.8 hours total time and 230.7 hours since major overhaul at that inspection. The last maintenance entry was November 3, 2008, noting a strip and repaint at tachometer 309.9 hours. At the time of the accident, the airplane had flown 9 hours since the annual and 1 hour since repainting.
Pilot Information
The 77-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating. His most recent third-class FAA medical certificate was issued July 13, 2005, with a corrective lenses limitation, and expired July 31, 2007. The most recent biennial flight review recorded was September 2, 2005, expiring September 30, 2007. The last logbook entry was June 18, 2005, indicating 793.4 total flight hours. Using aircraft time sheets from April 2005 to January 2008, the pilot flew 10.6 hours in the latter half of 2005, 12.8 hours in 2006, 2.3 hours in 2007, and 1.2 hours on January 13, 2008. He purchased the airplane in 1996, and it accumulated about 240 hours from October 1996 to the accident, estimated as his time in the make and model. An autopsy determined the cause of death as multiple blunt-force trauma, with noted conditions including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension. Toxicology tests detected atropine in liver, dihydrocodone (0.11 ug/mL) in liver, and hydrocodone (0.4 ug/mL in liver, 0.095 ug/mL in kidney).