The devil is in the details, and that couldn’t possibly be more true than in the NTSB findings from the case of an accident earlier this year involving a Cessna 177RG that crashed near Grass Valley, California. Its sole occupant was killed when the airplane collided with a tree following loss of engine power in the traffic pattern at Nevada County Airport (GOO).

It all came down to one loose nut, according to the NTSB’s final report.

Power Loss in the Pattern

The flight departed Auburn Municipal Airport about 15 minutes earlier and climbed normally up to about 4,400 feet. Witnesses who heard the pilot’s transmissions told NTSB investigators that the pilot sounded calm and professional, giving no indication of engine trouble until he made a mayday call in the Nevada County traffic patter

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