ERA23LA231

Shortly after takeoff during a personal flight, the pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane reported that the engine lost all power suddenly. He was able to briefly restart the engine for several seconds after several attempts, but it lost power gain. He maneuvered for a forced landing to nearby field and the airplane’s wings and fuselage were substantially damaged during the subsequent landing. Postaccident examination of the engine’s ignition system revealed the power supply electrical wire from the distributor to the ignition module was separated at the connection at the distributor. Further, a secondary locking device was not present on the separated electrical connector. Thus, the separation of the electrical wire that powered the ignition module served as a single-point failure that disabled the ignition system.

On May 15, 2023, about 1713 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Walker-Curtiss JN4D, N8262, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Greenville, Kentucky. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that three legs had been flown earlier that day with no reported engine issues. After landing at the third airport, he filled the fuel tank for his final flight leg and performed a preflight inspection of the airplane. The flight departed Madisonville Regional Airport (2I0), Madisonville, Kentucky, about 1700. About 10 minutes after takeoff, while flying at 1,500 ft above ground level (agl), the engine suddenly stopped “as if it were turned off.” He tried to restart the engine multiple times, and on the third attempt it started and operated to full power for about 10 seconds, and then it stopped again. He again tried to restart the engine but was unable. At that point the airplane was over rolling hills. He saw a logging road and a field, but initially opted to attempt to land on the logging road because recovery of the airplane might be easier. When the airplane got closer to the logging road, he saw stumps and opted to divert to the nearby field, which had been a strip mine. He performed a three-point landing in the field and the airplane skipped; after a second touchdown, something contacted the main landing gear, and it separated from the airplane. The airplane came to rest with the empennage twisted to the left, the right lower wing was torn off about 2 ft outboard from the wing root, and the landing gear were sheared off. Operational testing of the engine ignition system following recovery of the airplane revealed electrical power to the distributor, but there was no electrical power from the distributor to the ignition module. Inspection of the distributor revealed that the female spade electrical terminal connector of the red colored (power) electrical wire was separated from the plastic connector and also from its mating male connector at the distributor. Close inspection of the female spade electrical connector and plastic connector revealed that there was no positive locking resistance of the female spade terminal electrical connector inside the plastic connector. The female spade electrical connector of the separated wire was placed on its mating male connector at the distributor and the connection was tight. There was no secondary locking device on the electrical connector at the distributor to prevent a single-point failure.