# Accident 20010420006969A: Amtr CHRISEAGLE2, Alexander City, AL, April 20, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 20, 2001, 13:00 local time
- Place: Alexander City, AL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.9206° N, 85.9305° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9206&lon=-85.9305&mi=10
- Aircraft: N181DM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N181DM-2001-10-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mcclung Daniel CHRISTEN EAGLE II (registry code 05658HB, https://openairdocs.org/model/mcclung-daniel-christen-eagle-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 SER A&C (registry code 41511, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR CHRISEAGLE2
- Reported engine: LYC IO360A1D6
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 14,500 total, 1,200 in this make and model, 120 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA01LA127](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA127) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010420006969A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19)ON APRIL 20, 2001, ABOUT 1500 CDT, A HOMEBUILT CHRISTEN EAGLE II, N181DM, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, OPERATING AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, SUSTAINED A LOSS OF POWER AND A FORCED LANDING WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT NEAR ALEXANDER CITY, ALABAMA. VISUAL METEROROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE ATP-RATE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM BALL GROUND, GEORGIA, FOR MAXWELL FIELD, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, BOUT 50 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.  ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 4,000 FEET MSL, WHEN THE ENIGNE QUIT WITHOUT ANY WARNING.  HE WAS TRYING FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING TO AN OPEN FIELD WHEN HIS PROPELLER CAUGHT A TREE CANOPY, CAUSING A LOSS OF FLARE SPEED AND A HARD TOUCHDOWN IN THE FIELD.                                                       (-23) AIRCRAFT IN CRUISE FLIGHT ENROUTE FROM GEORGIA (47A) TO (KMXL) ENGINE "JUST QUIT". PROPELLER WIND MILLING PILOT ESTABLISHED 100 MPH BEST GLIDE AND TROUBLED SHOOT, NOT ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE, BEGAN LOOKING FOR EMERGENCY LANDING SITE, PILOT WAS FLYING OVER INHOSPITABLE TERRAIN; PILOT OBSERVE D A FIELD AT HIS 4-6 O'CLOCK POSITION, SET UP TO GLIDE DIRECT TO IT; TOUCHED TOP OF A TREE, AIRCRAFT DROPPED AT APPROXIMATELY 65-70 MPH AFTER LANDING ON A PASTURE FIELD, AIRCRAFT ROLLED ON MAIN WHEELS THEN FLIPPED OVER, PILOT WAS NOT HURT, THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, THE CAUSE OF THE ENGINE FAILURE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED; NTSB HAS REQUESTED AN ENGINE TEAR DOWN. (.4) ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, AT ABOUT 4,500 FEET MSL, THE ENGINE QUIT WITHOUT WARNING. HIS EMERGENCY LANDING FIELD CHOICES WERE, TREES, A RIVER, OR PREVIOUSLY FORESTED CLEARCUT FIELDS. HE CHOSE A SMALL CLEARING SURROUNDED BY TREES AND HE SUSTAINED A HARD TOUCHDOWN AND NOSEOVER. FAA INSPECTOR STATEMENTS REVEALED THAT FUEL EXHAUSTION, WEATHER, OR PILOT HUMAN FACTORS WERE NOT AT ISSUE. TEARDOWN INSPECTION OF THE MODIFIED FUEL INJECTION SERVO BY NTSB AND REPAIR STATION PERSONNEL REVEALED INTERNAL SEPARATION OF PARTS WITHIN THE SERVO'S REGULATOR ASSEMBLY WHICH EFFECTIVELY SHUT DOWN THE FUEL FLOW TO THE ENGINE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA01LA127](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA127), Apr 20, 2001: Christen Industries Eagle II (N181DM), Alexander City, AL, substantial damage. Probable cause: A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to an internal disconnection in the fuel injector control assembly as a result of a failure of the maintenance facility to follow proper…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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