FTW00LA059

The airplane was in level cruise flight during dark night conditions when the 'engine stopped.' The instructor elected to make a forced landing to a field. On final approach, the instructor noticed what appeared to be power lines. The instructor banked the airplane to parallel the power lines and rotated the airplane to a nose high pitch attitude for touchdown. The touchdown was made on both main wheels; however, 'the nose of the aircraft came down hard,' and the airplane skidded to a stop. An FAA inspector supervised a 35-minute test run of the engine and found no anomalies.

On January 9, 2000, at 1845 central standard time, a Piper PA-32-300 airplane, N8954N, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Sweeney, Texas. The airplane was registered to a private individual, and operated by Eagle Air Service, LTD. of Angleton, Texas. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight departed the Brazoria County Airport near Angleton, Texas, at 1830, and was destined for the Bay City Municipal Airport, Bay City, Texas.

In the enclosed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the flight instructor stated that the airplane was in cruise flight level at 1,500 feet msl when the "engine stopped." The instructor stated that his attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The instructor elected to make a forced landing to a field. Just before the airplane crossed a tree line at the end of the field, the instructor "noticed what appeared to be power lines crossing the field." The instructor banked the airplane to parallel the power lines. After clearing the tree line, the instructor rotated the airplane to a nose high pitch attitude for touchdown. According to the instructor, "touchdown was made with a nose high attitude, squarely on both main wheels." Upon touchdown, "the nose of the aircraft came down hard," and the airplane skidded to a stop.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident site. The inspector stated there was structural damage to the firewall. In addition, the nose landing gear was collapsed aft, and the propeller and engine cowling sustained damage. On March 2, 2000, an FAA inspector supervised a test run of the engine. The engine was run for 35 minutes at various power settings. No anomalies were noted during the engine test run.