# NTSB CEN11LA514: Evens RV4, N20JE, Monroe City, MO, July 25, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 25, 2011, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Monroe City, MO - Coordinates: 39.635276, -91.733055 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6353&lon=-91.7331&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 8, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 81245 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN11LA514 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/81245/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81245 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA514 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Environmental issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md) - [Engine (reciprocating)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500/cases.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 497 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342); cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md) - [Approach: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Evens Joe RV4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05628WV), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot stated that before the airplane descended to an intermediate cruise altitude, he selected carburetor heat and noted a normal decrease in engine speed. He then deselected carburetor heat and descended to 5,500 feet mean sea level. About 20 minutes after the descent, the engine ran rough and subsequently lost power. The pilot was unable to regain engine power by changing fuel tanks and he performed a forced landing to a corn field. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have resulted in a loss of engine power. The conditions about the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at glide power. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. ## Factual narrative On July 25, 2011, about 1130 central daylight time, an Evens RV-4, N20JE, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain during a forced landing to a field near Monroe City, Missouri. The airline transport pilot was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The flight originated from Eagle's Nest Estates Airport (2TS6), Midlothian, Texas, about 0820, and was en route to Capt. Ben Smith Airfield, Monroe City, Missouri. The pilot stated that before the airplane descended to an intermediate cruise altitude, he selected carburetor heat and noted a normal decrease in engine speed. He then deselected carburetor heat and descended to 5,500 feet mean sea level. About 20 minutes after the descent, the engine experienced three instances where it ran rough with a corresponding loss of engine power. The pilot was unable to regain engine power by changing fuel tanks. During the approach to the destination airport, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power, and the pilot performed a forced landing to a corn field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to engine firewall. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have resulted in a loss of engine power. According to a Federal Aviation Administration Carburetor Icing Probability Chart, a probability of carburetor icing existed at glide power at the conditions reported by the Quincy Regional Airport-Baldwin Field (UIN), Quincy, Illinois, automated surface observing system (ASOS). The ASOS was located about 31 nautical miles northeast of the accident site and at an elevation of 769 feet mean sea level. The UIN ASOS recorded at 1054: temperature - 86 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point - 75 degrees Fahrenheit. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N20JE](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N20JE), registered now, S/N 20, built 1996 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Evens RV4 - Registry model: [Evens Joe RV4](https://openairdocs.org/model/evens-joe-rv4) (registry code 05628WV) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 20 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-E2A 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Individual - Registered owner: Individual - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, August 2, 2010 - Departed: 2TS6, Midlothian, TX - Destination: K52, Monroe City, MO - Airport: K52, Capt. Ben Smith Airfield - Mon, runway 09, 3,515 × 50 ft ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial, flight engineer; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 9, 2011; seat: front; flight hours: 10,500 total, 120 in this make and model, 6,120 as pilot in command, 70 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 110° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: UIN, 31 nm away ## 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 20110725014169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110725014169A), Jul 25, 2011: Evens Joe RV4, Monroe City, MO, Substantial damage. On the date of the accident, the aircraft was en route from dallas, TX to oshkosh, WI. The engine began to run rough, and the pilot made the decision to divert… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 13, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81245. 778 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 467 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353584&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Record of Conversation (item 2, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353610&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 3, .PDF, 13 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353585&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - Carburetor Icing Probability Chart (item 4, .PDF, 249 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40362321&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Carburetor%20Icing%20Probability%20Chart-Master.PDF 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.