NTSB Factual Report

On June 5, 2010, about 1501 mountain standard time, a Beech F33A airplane, N1565A, was substantially damaged following a forced landing after experiencing a loss of engine power near the Marana Regional Airport (AVQ), Marana, Arizona. The airplane was registered to Airline Training Center Arizona, Inc., of Goodyear, Arizona. The certified flight instructor and two student pilots were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional cross-country flight, which was operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed the Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR), Goodyear, Arizona, about 1304.

In a written statement submitted 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. The instructor further reported that while maneuvering about 6 miles to the northeast of the airport "...we experienced a partial power loss, [and] the aircraft [engine] surged. I took command of the aircraft and turned the fuel pump on. The aircraft started a slow descent due to the power loss." The instructor pilot stated that power was temporarily restored but not to full power, and then about 10 seconds later the airplane's engine experienced a total power failure. The instructor reported that he maneuvered about 30 degrees to the right, established a glide angle to the selected forced landing site, rolled the wings level and placed the landing gear and flaps in the down position, while at the same time pulling the throttle and mixture controls back to idle and setting the propeller control to low rpm. The pilot stated that during the forced landing the airplane's leading edge of the left wing struck a tree just seconds before touching down, which turned the airplane about 90 degrees to the left. The instructor added, "We touched down on a dirt embankment and slid approximately 30 to 50 feet, and the aircraft came to rest against a small tree at the trailing edge of the right wing root."

At the request of the IIC, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector took possession of both the engine's fuel control unit and engine driven fuel pump, both of which were examined and bench tested at the facilities of Varga Enterprises, Phoenix, Arizona. The inspector reported that when compared to the appropriate acceptable allowance parameter charts, both components tested were found to be 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.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of engine power while maneuvering to land for undetermined reasons.