History of Flight
On June 15, 2013, about 1800 Pacific daylight time, a single-engine Cessna 175 airplane, N9370B, experienced a loss of engine power during cruise flight and made a forced landing in a Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Area in Needles, California. The private pilot owned and operated the airplane under 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight. The pilot and one passenger received minor injuries; two additional passengers received serious injuries. The airplane sustained structural damage throughout the fuselage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which departed Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), Tehachapi, California, about 1530, and was destined for Ernest A. Love Field Airport (PRC), Prescott, Arizona. No flight plan had been filed.
According to law enforcement interviews, the pilot reported that at an altitude of 8,000 feet mean sea level, about 15 miles southwest of Laughlin-Bullhead Airport, the engine began to sputter followed by a loss of power. The pilot stated that he began to set up for best glide to initiate an emergency landing when the passenger in the front right seat pushed forward on the yoke, causing the airplane to impact terrain short of the intended landing site. After impact, the pilot reported shutting off electrical switches and draining about 15 gallons of fuel to reduce fire risk. Law enforcement noted that only one propeller blade sustained bending damage and the other was undamaged. They also reported no signs of fuel drained after impact. The pilot had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, was argumentative, and refused to answer questions; no sobriety test was performed due to the nature of the pilot's injuries.
Passengers reported that after landing at Tehachapi, they stopped at a gas station where the pilot purchased auto gasoline in four red plastic containers, stating it was to save money. The pilot and a male passenger fueled the airplane using those containers, then placed the empty containers in a garbage bag in the airplane. The front seat passenger reported that the pilot instructed her and her son to sit in the front right seat and share a seatbelt, citing weight distribution. Both passengers reported that after the engine quit, the pilot said the fuel was contaminated with water.
Aircraft and Personnel Information
The pilot, age 61, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. He was denied a medical certificate on November 12, 2012. The investigation could not determine his total flight time; his logbook indicated completion of a biennial flight review on May 19, 2013.
The 1958 Cessna 175 had an airframe total time of 1,479.5 hours and was modified with a supplemental type certificate to accept auto fuel. A logbook entry showed an annual/100-hour inspection in February 2011 at 1,925.2 tachometer hours (engine TT 1,968.2 hours, 584.2 hours since major overhaul). An invoice from January 2013 noted cylinder work at 1,999.1 tachometer hours. The tachometer indicated 2,034.1 hours at the time of the accident.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was equipped with three seats; it was manufactured with four. Seats one and two (front) were attached to their mounting frames. Seat three (left rear) was attached via a nonstandard mounting frame. Seat four was missing. The mounting frame for seats three and four appeared homemade, constructed of hollow pipe welded in an oval shape, with no approval paperwork identified. The oval frame separated into multiple pieces. No carpet was installed in the back, and most inspection panels were removed.
Three of four engine mounts were fractured; the engine remained in place but was displaced nose down. The fixed-pitch propeller remained attached; one blade was bent aft about 90 degrees with scrapes and gouges, while the other showed little damage. The carburetor was separated from the engine, with a fractured mounting flange; the mixture control lever was fractured and not observed. The throttle control lever and rod end remained attached, and movement had a corresponding throttle valve movement. The carburetor inlet fuel screen was clear, no sediment in the bowl, floats intact, and no obstructions. The oil sump contained 5.5 quarts of oil; the oil filter was filled with oil. The ignition switch was set to BOTH with a broken key. Magneto timing was set at about 28 degrees before top dead center, and spark was observed from all top sparkplugs in the correct order.
No fuel was recovered from the airplane at the accident site.