- Date
- August 8, 1990, 19:20 local (Aug 9, 1990, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- Sykeston, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4471YPiper PA-25-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900808037579A
- Case key
- 14511
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 pilot's inadequate aircraft preflight. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain on which to perform a forced landing.
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 was in cruise flight at an altitude of approximately 200 ft AGL when a loss of engine power occurred. The pilot stated the power loss was sufficient engough to prevent him from maintaining altitude a forced landing was made in a mature wheat field. During the landing the spray boom caught the wheat and the airplane ground looped. Post accident inspection revealed water and dirt contamination in both the fuel strainer and carburetor. The engine functioned normally when tested after the fuel system was cleaned out.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4471Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-25-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-4126
- Airframe hours
- 4,335
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B2C5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Rodney J. Settelmeyer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 12, 1990 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- ND47 · New Rockford, ND
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Expired
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 751 total · 196 in this make and model · 680 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.