20010127001719A

(-23)Intended route of flight was arl-fts-tyr-arl. This was a cross countr y night training flight. Instructor and student departed arlington airport and flew to spinks airport. The aircraft was refueled at spinks airport. The student pilot took a fuel sample and found some water in the sample taken. He and the instructor pilot continued to take water samples until they saw no more water. They departed spinks airport enroute to tyler airport. At a point about 3-4 miles north of Lancaster airport the instructor pilot stated the engine began to run rough. He was in contact with dfw approach and asked for assistance to redbird airport some 6-8 miles north of his position. The pilot ran his emergency checklist for loss of power. It became apparent an off airport landing was going to be made. The instructor pilot selected an open field oriented north/south. The field was approx. 3/4 mile long. This area had experienced rain within preceding 3-4 days. The field was not freshly plowed however there was indications of furrows, see pictures. The field was planted in a wintery rye crop that had just began to sprout. The pilot stated his approach speed was approx. 55-65 KTS. The a/c flaps were at the second notch, @20 degrees. The pilot stated he attempted to hold the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible. However, nose wheel tire tracks indicated differently. Estimated total length of landing gear tracksis 504 feet. (Calculated @168 paces of @3' each) the first indication of nose wheel tracks is @16 feet from the initial point where the main gear tracks began. The tracks indicate the pilot, after touchdown, did apply the brakes. Indications of the ground show a main gear disturbed area of @6-8 ft in legth. The condition in which the ground is disturbed indicates either the pilot locked the brakes or defiantly applied them to a point of nearly locking them, approximately 150 feet after touchdown the tracks indicate a gradual right turn. It appears the pilot was attempting to turn the aircraft to avoid the approaching 4 lane divided roadway. The a/c eventually came to rest on its back pointed nnw. There was substantial area of disturbed ground just forward of the location where the a/c actually came to rest. At the point of rotation off its wheels to its resting plane the ground shows evidence of the nose wheel "digging into the ground" the left wing from the strut outboard has been displaced downward approximately 3 feet at the wing tip. Engine indicates compression but, to me, it seemed very low. Weather was not a factor in this accident. Wind was a reported 330@6 KTS. The pilotmade a down wind landing compounding his problems. Inspectors speculation: the pilot landed long in the pasture. He did not plan his approach accordingly to utilize all the field. Had he done so, the a/c would have had sufficient distance to roll to a stop even at the estimated higher speed. The a/c touched down with more forward airspeed than the pilot claims. He attempted to apply braking action and began to skid. The brakes were released. The pilot seeing the approaching roadway began a slight right turn. It became apparent the aircraft may travel into the roadway. The pilot made a substantially positive brake application. Resulting in: the forward momentum of the aircraft transferring the a/c weight onto the nose wheel. Due to the "soft field conditions this weight transfer caused the nose wheel to "dig into the ground". Considering the right turn additional pressure was placed on the left side of the nose wheel clogging the nose wheel yoke mounting assembly. With the additional speed, clogged nose wheel and the nose wheel being buried approx. 2-3 in the soft ground, this resulted in the a/c flipping over on its back. I suspect this downward and forward movement just prior to the a/c flipping caused the left wing damage. There were no indications of ground impact along the crash site. Had the a/c nose impacted the ground this would have damaged the spinner. The spinner was in tact and without damage. The a/c flipped so fast it was airborne during this manuever.