- Date
- July 22, 2009, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Iowa City, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7BTForster SA-300
- Defining event
- Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20090722012289A
- Case key
- 74342
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 loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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 was en route to the destination airport when the airplane engine lost power, regained power, and then lost power again. The pilot said that he placed the mixture control in the full rich position, turned on the electric fuel pump, and moved the throttle control, but the engine did not regain power. The pilot attempted a forced landing on a corn field when the airplane struck two traffic signs that were adjacent to the field, substantially damaging the airplane wings. The pilot was uninjured. Inspection of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot was en route to the destination airport when the airplane engine lost power, regained power, and then lost power again. The pilot said that he then placed the mixture control in the full rich position, turned on the electric fuel pump, and moved the throttle control, but the engine still did not regain power. The pilot attempted a forced landing on a corn field and the airplane struck two traffic signs on roll out that were adjacent to the field, substantially damaging the wings. The pilot was uninjured. Inspection of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7BT
- Reported as
- Forster SA-300
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 100
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald Miller
- Registered owner
- Steven Hartley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- GGI · Grinnell, IA
- Destination
- Long Island, NY
- 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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 26, 2009
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 6,200 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 8, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 479 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.