Cessna 152 N6285M accident near Glendale, Arizona

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to the failure of both magnetos resulting from an improper maintenance repair by maintenance personnel.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and student were returning to the airport when the airplane's engine began running rough. The roughness became increasingly worse, and finally the engine "sputtered briefly" and lost power. The flight instructor was unable to restart the engine, and he initiated a forced landing onto a nearby grassy field. During the landing roll, the airplane impacted a chain link fence, resulting in structural damage to the right wing. During postaccident examination of the airplane, several attempts were made to start and run the engine; however, it would not start. The magnetos were removed from the engine and tested, and neither produced spark. Disassembly of the left magneto revealed the failure of the secondary coil. Disassembly of the right magneto revealed that the point gap was set incorrectly and that the lead connector from the magneto's coil to the points was loose. Review of maintenance records revealed that the magnetos were removed 3 tachometer hours prior to the accident; new points, capacitors, and gaskets were installed and the magnetos were reinstalled on the engine.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09LA196 for the full record.