CEN12LA257

The pilot reported that the airplane’s engine lost power during cruise flight. He increased the mixture and manipulated the throttle to no avail. He chose a field for a forced landing, but at the last minute, he saw a barbed wire fence in the flight path. The pilot did not want the open-cockpit airplane to hit the barbed wire fence directly, so he pulled back on the control column in an attempt to clear the fence. The airplane then "pancaked" to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any failures or malfunctions that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The closest recorded temperature and dewpoint were conducive for carburetor icing conditions at glide and cruise power.

On April 23, 2012, at 1130 central daylight time, an experimental Clifton Breezy, N6155M, collided with the terrain during a forced landing to a field in Laneville, Texas, following a loss of engine power. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The accident occurred during the last leg of a multi-leg cross country flight, which departed from Palestine, Texas, about 1045. The pilot had just purchased the airplane and was flying it cross-country back to his local airport. The pilot filled the airplane's fuel tanks during the last en route stop. About 45 minutes later, the engine lost power. The pilot stated that he increased the mixture and pumped the throttle to no avail. He selected a field in which to land and at the last minute saw a barbed wire fence in the flight path. The pilot noted that he did not want to hit the barbed wire head-on in the open-cockpit airplane. He increased the pitch attitude in an attempt to clear the fence; however, the airplane "pancaked" to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any failures/malfunctions that would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The temperature and dewpoint recorded at the Cherokee County Airport (KJSO), Jacksonville, Texas, located about 23 miles west of the accident site, at 1255, were 19 degrees Celsius and 0 degrees Celsius, respectively. Federal Aviation Administration guidance noted a possibility of carburetor icing at glide and cruise power under those conditions.