- Date
- May 10, 2005, 17:37 local (22:37 UTC)
- Place
- Dike, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N824MMattson Zenith 601XL
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20050510007759A
- Case key
- 61475
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
A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot misjudged the forced landing approach. Factors associated with the accident were the fence and the ditch which the airplane contacted.
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 collided with a ditch during an off airport forced following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that 15 minutes into the flight, the engine rpm started decreasing and he thought he smelled smoke in the cockpit. He reported that he turned off the battery switches and the engine rpm began to increase. The pilot reported he set the engine power to 2,500 rpm and began spiraling down over a private airstrip from an altitude of 4,500 feet above mean sea level (msl) when the engine lost all power. He stated he needed additional power to complete the last 360 degree turn so he elected to land in a field. The airplane struck a fence and a ditch during the landing. Inspection of the airplane and engine failed to reveal any mechanical failure/malfunction which would have resulted in a fire, smoke, or the loss of engine power. The engine was equipped with an electronic ignition system. The pilot reported the accident could have been avoided by making a "better landing on power off."
Factual narrative
On May 10, 2005, at 1737 central daylight time, an experiemental, amatuer-built Mattson Zenith 601XL, N824M, collided with a ditch during an off airport forced landing in Dike, Iowa, following a loss of engine power. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The local flight originated from Waterloo, Iowa, at 1700.
The pilot reported that 15 minutes into the flight, the engine rpm started decreasing and he thought he smelled smoke in the cockpit. He reported that he turned off the battery switches and the engine rpm began to increase. The pilot reported he set the engine power to 2,500 rpm and began spiraling down over a private airstrip from an altitude of 4,500 feet above mean sea level (msl) when the engine lost all power. He stated he needed additional power to complete the last 360 degree turn so he elected to land in a field. The airplane struck a fence and a ditch during the landing.
Inspection of the airplane and engine by an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office in Des Moines, Iowa, failed to reveal any mechanical failure/malfunction which would have resulted in a fire, smoke, or the loss of engine power. The engine was equipped with an electronic ignition system.
The pilot reported the accident could have been avoided by making a "better landing on power off."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N824M
- Reported as
- Mattson Zenith 601XL
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6-4466
- Airframe hours
- 24
- Engine
- Honda CAM 100, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Douglas L. Mattson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- January 1, 2005
- Departed
- ALO · Waterloo, IA
- Destination
- ALO
- Airport
- PVT · Private
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 123 total · 22 in this make and model · 87 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.82 inHg
- Observed at
- ALO, 13 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.