Cessna 205 accident near Tacna, Arizona, July 5, 2000
On July 5, 2000 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Cessna 205, registered N8154Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tacna, Arizona. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The piston and rings in cylinder No. 1 failed resulting in a total loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing on a road and the airplane's wing collided with a road sign.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 5, 2000 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Tacna, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 205
- Registration
- N8154Z · registry record · serial 20500154
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot made a forced landing on a gravel road following a loss of engine power. The right wing struck a road sign. The flight had been airborne about 20 minutes and the pilot had established cruise flight. The engine made a loud noise, began to vibrate severely, and lost power. Post accident examination determined that the engine case fractured in the vicinity of the No. 6 cylinder, and the cylinder's base was displaced away from the case. The engine could not be rotated by hand, but oil was in the oil pan. The piston in cylinder No. 1 fractured and separated at the piston pin. The piston rod continued to rotate, which fractured the camshaft in half and separated both magnetos. The piston rings in cylinder No. 1 fractured and scored the interior wall of the cylinder in the direction of the cylinder stroke. There was no discoloration of the engine components or other signs of oil starvation. There was no mechanical damage on the piston face that indicated the possibility of a stuck valve. The airplane received an annual inspection 1 month prior to the accident, and all airworthiness directives and required inspections had been complied with. The manufacturer recommends that this engine model should be overhauled at 1,500 hours, and this engine had over 1,820 hours since overhaul.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 5,180 hours in all; 480 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 5,180 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 26, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,272 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2000; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-470S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: YUM Yuma AZ at 3:00 pm
- Destination: SEZ Sedona AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from YUM, 32 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX00LA258.