LAX02LA152 · Cessna 182P

The airplane initiated a forced landing after a partial loss of engine power during the takeoff initial climb. During the initial run-up the magneto check was not within acceptable limits; however, approximately 15 minutes later the pilot rechecked the magnetos and they were within acceptable limits. The pilot said he configured and checked the airplane prior to takeoff with 10 degrees of flaps and all gages "in the green." The pilot stated that he had leaned the engine during the taxi and takeoff. His procedure for leaning was to bring the mixture back until the engine began to run rough, and then turn the mixture control knob two times until the engine was running smoothly again. As the airplane climbed out, the engine was not developing enough power, and the pilot initiated a shallow turn toward the runway. The pilot verified that the throttle and propeller were forward and richened the mixture two turns; however, at that point the airplane lost all of its ability to climb. He executed a forced landing in the desert, shearing the nose gear and one of the main landing gear and bending the propeller blades. Passengers thought the engine sounded normal, but not like it was running at full rpm during the initial climb. A mechanic examined the airplane after the accident and found no discrepancies that would account for a loss of engine power. About 20 gallons of fuel was found in the fuel system, and fuel was in the fuel line to the engine. An aeronautical handbook states that operation with a lean mixture may result in a loss of engine power.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset