- Date
- September 9, 2005, 13:50 local (18:50 UTC)
- Place
- Grafton, IL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9120QDixon RV-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Springfield FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050909023889A
- Case key
- 62603
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 due to contamination of the fuel system, gascolator and carburetor inlet screen. A factor to the accident was the soybean crop.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane nosed over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported the engine "started missing" and eventually "went dead" during cruise flight. The pilot stated that he switched fuel tanks, checked the magnetos, and applied carburetor heat to no avail. The pilot stated that he performed a forced landing into a soybean field and nosed over during the landing rollout. The engine was test run during a post-accident examination. The engine started and ran at idle for a period of five minutes with no anomalies. The engine subsequently ran at 2,100 rpm with no anomalies. The gascolator and carburetor inlet screen were contaminated with fragments of a red fabric-like substance. The red fragments were similar to a shop-cloth or scotch-brite abrasion pad.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 2005, at 1350 central daylight time, a Dixon RV-4, N9120Q, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Grafton, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight departed Batesville Regional Airport (BVX), Batesville, Arkansas, at 1200 and was enroute to Whiteside County Airport (SQI), Rock Falls, Illinois.
The pilot reported that after passing the St. Louis metropolitan area the engine "started missing" and eventually "went dead". The pilot stated that he performed a forced landing into a soybean field and nosed over during the landing rollout.
The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that he had descended to 2,000 feet mean sea level in order to avoid the St. Louis Class B airspace. The pilot reported that after passing St. Louis he started to initiate a climb when the engine began running rough. The pilot stated that he switched fuel tanks, checked the magnetos, and applied carburetor heat to no avail.
The engine was test run during a post-accident examination. The engine started and ran at idle for a period of five minutes with no anomalies. The engine subsequently ran at 2,100 rpm with no anomalies. The gascolator and carburetor inlet screen were contaminated with fragments of a red fabric-like substance, according to the mechanic who examined the airplane after the accident. The red fragments were similar to a shop-cloth or scotch-brite abrasion pad.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9120Q
- Reported as
- Dixon RV-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2278
- Airframe hours
- 369.11
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 2004 · 86.61 hours before
- Departed
- BVX · Batesville, AR
- Destination
- SQI · Rock Falls, IL
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
- 68
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 1, 2005
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,300 total · 150 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- SET, 3 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.