- Date
- June 20, 2012, 01:30 local (09:30 UTC)
- Place
- Two Rivers, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N907ADDosser Dale A Blade 582
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report October 15, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 84116
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fouled spark plugs, which resulted from a stuck mixture control.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the airplane was in level cruise flight when the engine began to run rough and lose power, followed by a complete loss of engine power. He made a forced landing on a mountain ridge. During the forced landing, the nose wheel encountered rough terrain and collapsed rearward, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination revealed that the engine’s mixture control malfunctioned, which resulted in fouled spark plugs.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that while in level cruise flight the engine began to run rough and lose power, followed by a complete loss of engine power. He made a forced landing to a trail on a mountain ridge. During the forced landing, the nose wheel encountered rough terrain and collapsed rearward. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. A postaccident examination by the pilot, revealed the mixture control stuck in the full rich position, which fouled the spark plugs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N907AD
- Reported as
- Dosser Dale A Blade 582
- Category
- Weight-shift, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1151-0398-7W954
- Engine
- Rotax 582DCDI, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Departed
- 95Z · North Pole, AK
- Destination
- 95Z · North Pole, AK
- Flight plan
- Unknown
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 73 total · 73 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 8, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 731 KB in all.