- Date
- October 2, 2010, 08:45 local (13:45 UTC)
- Place
- Central City, NE
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N44KWKevin Wilkinson Easy Eagle 1
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 16, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20101002047589A
- Case key
- 77555
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 · 1
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 sport pilot had just departed in his experimental airplane on a local flight when he experienced a total engine failure at an altitude of 500-700 feet above the ground. The pilot was unable to land on the remaining length of runway and therefore he elected to make a forced landing to a plowed field directly off the end of the runway. The airplane sustained damage to all three landing gear, the fuselage, and both wings. During a postaccident examination of the engine, the source of the power loss could not be determined; no other anomalies were found with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The sport pilot had just departed in his single-engine experimental airplane on a local flight when he experienced a total engine failure at an altitude of 500-700 feet. The pilot was unable to land on the remaining length of runway so he made a forced landing to a plowed field directly off the end of the runway. The airplane sustained damage to all three landing gear, the fuselage, and both wings. An examination of the engine revealed that a source of the power loss could not be determined. No other anomalies were found with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44KW
- Reported as
- Kevin Wilkinson Easy Eagle 1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 614
- Engine
- Volkswagen 1915
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kevin L Wilkinson
- Registered owner
- Kevin L Wilkinson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Departed
- 07K · Central City, KS
- Destination
- 07K · Central City, KS
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- 07K · Central City, runway 33
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 40 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 307 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.