# NTSB ANC01LA118: Thomson Avid Flyer, N47065, Chugiak, AK, August 22, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 22, 2001, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Chugiak, AK - Coordinates: 61.402778, -149.514724 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.4028&lon=-149.5147&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 25, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA Anchorage Flight Standards - NTSB case key (mKey): 53219 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC01LA118 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53219/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC01LA118 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power during initial climb due to a broken spark plug. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - mech failure/malf, takeoff - initial climb - ignition system,spark plug - fractured (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, emergency landing after takeoff - terrain condition - ditch ## Analysis The pilot reported the experimental amateur built airplane he was flying had a loss of engine power while climbing in the traffic pattern after takeoff. He said he had insufficient altitude to return to the airstrip, and had to land near a railroad track. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered a ditch and received substantial damage. The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that the loss of engine power was due to a broken spark plug in one of the engine's two cylinders. ## Factual narrative On August 22, 2001, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, an experimental Thomson Avid Flyer, N47065, received substantial damage following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing near the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. The solo private pilot/owner was not injured. The local 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. In a written statement to the NTSB dated August 27, the pilot related he had departed from runway 19L at the Birchwood Airport, and had climbed to approximately 800 feet msl in the ultralight pattern, when the engine starting missing and then quit. He wrote he was about 1/2 mile from the end of the runway, but was unable to glide that distance, and elected to land on the only flat spot available near adjacent railroad tracks. He said the airplane bounced once on landing, and then collided with a ditch, collapsing the main landing gear. The pilot said the loss of engine power was due to a broken spark plug on one of the two engine cylinders. Postaccident inspection of the airplane by an FAA inspector from the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office, disclosed substantial damage to the fuselage tubing structure near the main landing gear. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N47065](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N47065), registered now, S/N 63, built 1998 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Thomson Avid Flyer - Registry model: [Leavitt Jeff AVID FLYER](https://openairdocs.org/model/leavitt-jeff-avid-flyer) (registry code 05613AS) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Bombardier ROTAX (ALL)](https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (registry code 09050, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 063 - Airframe hours: 60 - Engines: Rotax 532 64 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: James Thomson - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, May 8, 2001, 10 hours before - Departed: BCV, Chugiak, AK - Airport: Z15, Birchwood, runway 19L ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 65; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 26, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 3,000 total, 60 in this make and model, 3,000 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 8 knots - Visibility: 80 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 68 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010822036349A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010822036349A), Aug 22, 2001: Amtr AVIDFLYER, Birchwood, AK, No damage. (-23) Pilot took off from Birchwood Airport. On climbout the spark plug in one of the two cylinders broke and spark plug wire fell off. Engine would not make… 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. --- 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.