LAX98LA265 · Raymond C. Voegele MINI IMP RC-2 MINI IMP R
Raymond C. Voegele MINI IMP RC-2 MINI IMP R · Accident: partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure) during initial climb
From Sonoma Skypark Airport (0Q9) to an unrecorded destination
Event
- NTSB case
- LAX98LA265
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Raymond C. Voegele MINI IMP RC-2 MINI IMP R
- Aircraft type
- Raymond C Voegele MINI IMP RC-2
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N55961
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Sonoma Skypark Airport (0Q9)To not recorded
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Initial climb
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure)
- Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
- Tree(s)
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Ignition system, magneto › Loose part/bolt/nut/clamp/etc
- Owner/builder › Maintenance, adjustment, improper
- Throttle/power lever, cable › Binding(mechanical)
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
After takeoff, the pilot noted a partial loss of engine power and attempted to land in an open field; however, the airplane's landing gear struck trees and it collided with the roof of an occupied house. The pilot stated that the engine did not sputter, surge, or backfire, and the engine was just not producing full power. Examination of the airplane disclosed that there was a loose magneto cap with one screw missing, and the other two were only engaged by three threads. Interference was also found at the midpoint of the throttle control system as a result of the improper routing of that system in the airframe, and a misrigged carburetor heat box, which resulted in an inability to achieve full throttle movement at the carburetor.
Probable cause
A loss of power due to a loose magneto cap and a binding throttle control cable. The deficiencies were the result of the owner/pilot's improper installation and/or adjustments.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record LAX98LA265
- Event ID
- 20001211X10898
- Case number
- LAX98LA265
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 5b9056305db807852a39948c0ae981fddb34014074e79ba9ac32691d7ee1479f; retrieved 2026-09-22T17:06:43.932Z.