- Date
- July 13, 1996, 09:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Stoneville, SD
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N399SSauder Avid Flyer HH
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960713017129A
- Case key
- 10310
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
loss of engine power for undetermined reason(s). A factor relating to the accident was: rough/uneven terrain in the emergency landing area.
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 pilot stated that while in cruise flight, the engine lost power without warning. He made a forced landing in a 'rugged' hay field. Also, he said the landing was hard, which resulted in the damage to the airplane. The pilot said he had no knowledge of why the engine lost power. An FAA inspector examined the airplane; he said there was fuel present after the accident and that he could find no reason for the engine not to operate.
Factual narrative
On July 13, 1996, at 0930 mountain daylight time, an Sauter Avid Flyer HH, N399S, sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing following a loss of engine power. The accident occurred 14 miles north-northwest of Stoneville, South Dakota. The pilot reported no injuries. The passenger suffered minor injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight departed five miles north of Rapid City, South Dakota, at 0730 with the intended destination of Faith, South Dakota.
The pilot stated that the engine lost power with "no warning." He was unable to determine the reason for the loss of power. He said that the landing was hard and on a "rugged" field.
An examination of the airplane and engine by an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration failed to reveal the nature of the power loss. The inspector commented that the owner/pilot had adjusted the valves on the day prior to the power loss and accident. The inspector said that there was fuel present after the accident. He said that all damage he noted was from impact and he could find no reason for the engine not to operate.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N399S
- Reported as
- Sauder Avid Flyer HH (AVID FLYER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 720
- Airframe hours
- 75
- Engine
- Subaru EA-8100, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Darrel W. Sauder
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 12, 1996 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Rapid City, SD
- Destination
- D07 · Faith, SD
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
- 52
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 52 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 280 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.