# Incident 20180822024439I: American AA-5, Rineyville, KY, August 22, 2018

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 22, 2018, 13:00 local time
- Place: Rineyville, KY
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.7422° N, 85.9664° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Rineyville, KY, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7422&lon=-85.9664&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5871L, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5871L) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: American AA-5 (registry code 0631410, https://openairdocs.org/model/american-aa-5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMERICAN AA-5
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 159 total, 109 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180822024439I

## Narrative

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

PILOT'S STATEMENT: ON THE MORNING OF 08/22/2018 I ARRIVED AT KEKX FOR A SHORT FLIGHT IN THE PATTERN AND THEN CONTINUING TO KFTK FOR A COUPLE LOW APPROACHES TO RUNWAY 18. I DID A NORMAL PRE-FLIGHT AND WALK AROUND. ALL SEEMED NORMAL AND I ASCERTAINED THAT THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6-8 GALLONS ON BOARD.  I TAXIED TO THE PUMPS AT KEKX AND ATTEMPTED TO OBTAIN FUEL BUT THE PUMPS WERE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AND WOULD NOT DISPENSE FUEL. INSTEAD OF GOING INTO THE FBO I INSTEAD ELECTED TO MAKE THE SHORT TRIP WITH WHAT FUEL I HAD ON BOARD (THIS WOULD PROVE TO BE A MISTAKE OF MASSIVE PROPORTIONS). I TAXIED TO THE HOLD SHORT LINES AND DID A RUN-UP, WHICH OCCURRED WITHOUT INCIDENT. I THEN PROCEEDED TO DO A NORMAL TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 23 AND PERFORMED 2 LAPS IN THE PATTERN BEFORE MAKING MY FINAL CALL TO THE EKX CTAF. I THEN DEPARTED THE PATTERN AND CLIMBED TO ~1800 MSL ON A DIRECT TRACK TO KFTK AND CALLED THE TOWER TO OBTAIN CLEARANCE INTO THE DELTA AIRSPACE AND RECEIVED CLEARANCE FOR LOW APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18. APPROXIMATELY 90-120 SECONDS AFTER RECEIVING SAID CLEARANCE I SUFFERED A PARTIAL ENGINE FAILURE FOR APPROXIMATELY 15-20 SECONDS FOLLOWED BY A COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE.

AT THAT TIME I MADE MY MAYDAY CALL TO FTK TOWER AND PITCHED FOR BEST GLIDE WHILE MANEUVERING FOR WHAT I BELIEVED TO BE MY ONLY ACCEPTABLE AND SAFE OPTION WHICH WAS A FIELD AT MY 7-8 OCLOCK AND ABOUT 0.5 MILES. I DETERMINED THAT THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION WAS TO MAKE A RIGHT HAND DESCENDING TURN, WHICH KEPT ME WELL ABOVE THE POPULATED AREA AND PUT ME ON A TRACK TO CLEAR ALL OBSTACLES. ONCE ON MY FINAL APPROACH COURSE AND ESTABLISHED I PULLED THE MIXTURE INTO THE CUTOFF POSITION, TURNED OFF THE MASTER SWITCHES, AND TURNED OFF THE MAGS. I CONTINUED TO MANAGE MY SPEED AND ALTITUDE TO CLEAR AN APPROXIMATELY 4 FOOT TALL BARBED WIRE FENCE THAT CUT THE FIRST  OF THE FIELD LATERALLY, I THEN PERFORMED A SOFT FIELD LANDING INTO AN UNMOWN HAY FIELD. AFTER A SHORT ROLLOUT IN THE FIELD I TOOK A VERY QUICK INVENTORY OF MYSELF AND DETERMINED THAT I WAS UNHARMED AND MADE A QUICK RADIO CALL TO FTK TOWER STATING THAT I WAS DOWN AND SAFE. I THEN EXITED THE PLANE AND QUICKLY TOOK AN EXTERNAL LOOK TO DETERMINE IF THE PLANE HAD BEEN HARMED.

## Other reports on N5871L (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19780212005559A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19780212005559A), Feb 12, 1978: Gulstm AA5 (N5871L), Kingston, NY, Substantial damage. Plt rptd wind gusty.

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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