Incident Overview
On June 5, 2010, at approximately 1501 mountain standard time, a Beech F33A airplane, registration N1565A, was substantially damaged following a forced landing after a loss of engine power. The event occurred near Marana Regional Airport (AVQ) in Marana, Arizona. The aircraft was owned by Airline Training Center Arizona, Inc., of Goodyear, Arizona. On board were a certified flight instructor and two student pilots, none of whom were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional cross-country flight, which was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR) in Goodyear, Arizona, at about 1304.
Sequence of Events
In a written statement to the Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the flight instructor reported that due to conflicting company traffic entering the airport traffic pattern, he elected to proceed to the northeast to wait for the traffic to clear. While maneuvering approximately 6 miles northeast of the airport, the flight experienced a partial power loss and the engine surged. The instructor took command, turned on the fuel pump, and noted a slow descent due to the power loss. Power was temporarily restored, but not to full power; about 10 seconds later, the engine experienced a total power failure.
The instructor maneuvered about 30 degrees to the right, established a glide angle to a selected forced landing site, rolled the wings level, and extended the landing gear and flaps. Simultaneously, he retarded the throttle and mixture controls to idle and set the propeller control to low RPM. During the forced landing, the leading edge of the left wing struck a tree just seconds before touchdown, turning the airplane about 90 degrees to the left. The aircraft touched down on a dirt embankment, slid approximately 30 to 50 feet, and came to rest against a small tree at the trailing edge of the right wing root.
Post-Incident Examination
At the request of the IIC, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector took possession of the engine's fuel control unit and engine-driven fuel pump. Both components were examined and bench tested at the facilities of Varga Enterprises in Phoenix, Arizona. The inspector reported that, when compared to the appropriate acceptable allowance parameter charts, both components tested within acceptable operating limits and showed no indications of an in-flight failure.
Under the supervision of the FAA inspector, the airplane's engine underwent a field inspection conducted by a Teledyne-Continental Motors field technician at the operator's facility in Goodyear, Arizona. The technician's inspection report revealed that the inspection of the engine did not reveal any abnormalities that would have prevented normal operation and production of rated horsepower.