ERA23LA349

The private pilot and designated pilot examiner (DPE) departed to complete a private pilot airplane single engine sea rating flight test in the float-equipped airplane. The private pilot navigated without incident to a nearby lake, circled, and entered a left downwind traffic pattern leg for the first water landing of the flight. During his landing checks, and shortly after he reduced engine power and added flaps, the engine lost power. The private pilot announced the loss of power and transferred control of the airplane to the DPE. The DPE pushed the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls forward; however, the engine did not respond. He then switched fuel tanks and navigated towards a corn field ahead. During the forced landing the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A postaccident test run of the fuel-injected engine found that it started and produced normal power with fuel being fed from an external fuel tank placed above the fuselage. Positive fuel flow was observed with the fuel selector placed in the BOTH, LEFT, and RIGHT positions. The loss of engine power could not be duplicated during postaccident testing, and the reason for the loss of engine power that occurred during the accident flight could not be determined.

On August 24, 2023, about 1730 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A185F airplane, N955LS, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Leonardtown, Maryland. The private pilot and DPE were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to the private pilot, who was undergoing a checkride for a private pilot airplane single engine sea rating, the flight departed uneventfully from the St. Mary's County Regional Airport (2W6), Leonardtown, Maryland. He navigated to the Saint Clements Bay about 8 miles west of 2W6 to conduct the first water landing of the checkride. He circled near the area of the planned landing and then entered a left downwind traffic pattern leg. About 800 ft above ground level (agl), while in the left downwind, he reduced engine power to 20 inches of manifold pressure and lowered the flaps. Subsequently, he heard a subtle change in engine noise and attempted to increase power; however, engine power did not increase. He noticed that the rpm had dropped below 2200. With the airplane approaching about 600 ft agl, he announced to the DPE that the engine had lost power and that the DPE needed to take the controls. According to the DPE, while on the left downwind, he heard the private pilot state, “I lost power.” The DPE took control of the airplane and pushed the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls forward; however, the engine did not respond. He then switched fuel tanks and navigated towards a corn field ahead. During the forced landing, the airplane nosed over. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane at the accident site, the fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage. The wings were removed for recovery and an undetermined quantity of blue 100-low lead fuel (but a quantity that was estimated to be sufficient for flight) was drained from the airplane. Examination of the airplane found that both wing fuel pick-up points located at the fuselage and wing attachment area provided positive fuel flow with the fuel selector positioned on BOTH, LEFT, and RIGHT selector positions. The engine was prepped for a test run by replacing the damaged propeller with a like model. With minimal priming, and fuel fed from a gas tank placed above the fuselage, the engine started and ran at idle power. Engine power was increased to an estimated 1500 - 1800 rpm without anomaly. The tachometer was not operating at the time of the engine test run. The engine operated normally during the entirety of the engine test, with the fuel boost pump off. Review of the airplane’s maintenance records found that the most recent annual inspection was completed on April 20, 2023. The engine was overhauled and reinstalled on June 12, 2022, and had accumulated 139 hours since this overhaul.