# Accident 20010723017949A: Amtr LANCAIRIVP, Fryeburg, ME, July 23, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 23, 2001, 09:33 local time - Place: Fryeburg, ME - Airport: Eastern Slopes Regnl Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 43.9875° N, 70.1025° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.9875&lon=-70.1025&mi=10 - Aircraft: N488SD, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N488SD-2009-03-12) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Pohl Douglas A LANCAIR IV-P (registry code 05610NM, https://openairdocs.org/model/pohl-douglas-a-lancair-iv-p) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR LANCAIRIVP - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 393 total, 33 in this make and model, 65 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC01LA184](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA184) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010723017949A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) PILOT WAS ON A VFR FLIGHT FROM AUBURN/LEWISTON, ME (LEW) TO BUFFALO, NY (BUF). APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF AUBURN/LEWISTON (LEW) WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 8,000 FEET MSL, THE ENGINE LOST POWER SUDDENLY AS MANIFOLD PRESSURE DECREASED INITIALLY TO APPROXIMATELY 15 INCHES MP AND THEN TO 5 INCHES MP WHERE IT REMAINED. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO RESTORE POWER BY SWITCHING FUEL TANKS, IGNITIONS, AND FINALLY ALTERNATE BATTERY POWER. POWER WAS NOT RESTORED THROUGH ANY OF THESE ACTIONS. HE THEN SET UP A POWER-OFF GLIDE TO NEAREST AIRPORT (FREYEBURG, ME (IZG). HE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND PROCEEDED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING TO RUNWAY 32 AT IZG. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY AND SLID TO A STOP ON THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT EXTENDED THE GEAR ON SHORT FINAL BUT THE GEAR WAS NOT FULLY DOWN AND LOCKED ON LANDING. (.4) ON JULY 23, 2001, AT 0933 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A HOMEBUILT LANCAIR IV-P, N488SD, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING IN FRYEBURG, MAINE. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT/BUILDER AND THE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A VISUAL FLIGHT RUL ES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT/BUILDER REPORTED THAT HE HAD DEPARTED FROM LEWISTON, MAINE, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO BUFFALO, NEW YORK, WITH A FINAL DESTINATION OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN. ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE, HE WAS CLIMBING THROUGH 8,000 FEET FOR 14,500 FEET, WHEN THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE, WHICH HAD BEEN ABOUT 34 INCHES, DROPPED TO ABOUT 15 INCHES. HE CHECKED HIS GPS FOR THE CLOSEST AIRPORT, WHICH WAS FRYEBURG, ABOUT 12 NAUTICAL MILES TO THE NORTH. HE TURNED TOWARD THE AIRPORT AND SET UP A DESCENT AT 120 KIAS. HE SAID THAT HE DID NOT DECLARE AN EMERGENCY AT THAT TIME AND THOUGHT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THE AIRPORT. AS THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED THROUGH 3,000 FEET, THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE, WHICH HAD BEEN STEADILY DECREASING, DECREASED TO 4 INCHES. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AT THAT POINT HE RETARDED THE PROPELLER CONTROL TO ITS MAXIMUM PITCH POSITION TO REDUCE DRAG, AND REDUCED HIS AIRSPEED TO ABOUT 100 KIAS. THE PILOT/BUILDER POSITIONED THE AIRPLANE FOR A STRAIGHT-IN APPROACH TO RUNWAY 32. AS THE AIRPLANE NEARED THE RUNWAY, HE DECIDED TO HOLD THE LANDING GEAR DUE TO THE LOWER-THAN-ANTICIPATED ALTITUDE OF THE AIRPLANE. WHEN HE DIDEXTEND THE LANDING GEAR, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT TIME TO COMPLETE THE EXTENSION, AND THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 100 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY WITH THE LANDING GEAR ONLY PARTIALLY EXTENDED. THE AIRPLANE THEN SLID ONTO THE RUNWAY AND CAME TO A STOP. ACCORDING TO AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), THE COMPOSITE BLADES OF THE PROPELLER WERE BROKEN OFF, THE BOTTOM OF THE FUSELAGE WAS SCRAPED, AND THERE WAS A FUEL SPILL FROM WHERE THE RIGHT WING FUEL TANK WAS BROKEN OPEN. THE REMAINS OF A PAPER TOWEL WERE FOUND IN THE TURBOCHARGER AND INTERCOOLERS. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD JUST COMPLETED HIS PHASE 1 FLIGHT TIME REQUIREMENTS AFTER BUILDING THE AIRPLANE, AND HAD INSPECTED IT. DURING THE INSPECTION, SEVERAL PEOPLE, SOME OF WHOM WERE NOT RATED MECHANICS, ASSISTED. THE ENGINE COWLING HAD BEEN REMOVED, AND PAPER TOWELS WERE USED AS WIPES ON VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ENGINE AND AIRPLANE. SEVERAL PAPER TOWELS WERE REPORTED TO BE LYING LOOSE ON THE GROUND AT THE COMPLETION OF THE INSPECTION. IN ADDITION, THE PILOT/BUILDER TOLD THE FAA INSPECTOR THAT A PAPER TOWEL HAD INADVERTENTLY BEEN LEFT ON THE TOP OF THE ENGINE. THE FAA INSPECTOR ALSO NOTED THAT THERE WAS A 5-INCH BY 10-INCH OPENING IN THE BACK OF THE ENGINE, WHICH ALLOWED UNFILTERED AIR INTO THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT FOLLOWING THE INSPECTION. ## 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 NYC01LA184](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA184), Jul 23, 2001: Pohl Lancair IV-P (N488SD), Fryeburg, ME, substantial damage. Probable cause: A partial blockage of the air intake system, due to the pilot's failure to ensure the engine compartment was clear of paper towels after a maintenance inspection. ## Other reports on N488SD (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20080707855219A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080707855219A), Jul 7, 2008: Amtr LANCAIRIVP (N488SD), Hollywood, FL, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) July 07, 2008, approx: 1757 eastern standard time, an (experimental) Lancair iv-p, N488SD aircraft registered and operated by [privacy data omitted] as… - [Incident 20050928026169I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050928026169I), Sep 28, 2005: Amtr LANCAIRIVP (N488SD), Okeechobee, FL, Minor damage. (-23) Pilot landed on runway rwy 32 and after touch down right wheel started smoking and brake right wheel locked causing the tire to skid, the right tire blew… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.