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| Date: | Wednesday 15 January 2025 |
| Time: | 11:30 LT |
| Type: |  Zenith CH-750 STOL |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N749WJ |
| MSN: | 75-7751 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2012 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 560 hours |
| Engine model: | UL Power 350i |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Byron, IL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Dixon, IL (C73) |
| Rockford, IL (1C8) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that while in cruise flight, he noticed that his heavy keychain was pulling the key out of the ignition switch. He reached down to push the key back in, but inadvertently moved the key to the off position due to the thick glove on his hand, which resulted in a loss of engine power. When he attempted to reinsert the key and restart the engine, the key broke inside the ignition switch. He was unable to use the broken key to restart the engine. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no other mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot inadvertently moved the ignition key to the off position and broke the key, which resulted in a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN25LA078
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N749WJ
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jan-2025 16:13 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 06-Feb-2025 13:07 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 01-Mar-2025 12:48 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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