- Date
- April 22, 1994, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Strasburg, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8871Laurel Aero Club Cassutt III M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940422009189A
- Case key
- 19040
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 failure to attain the proper touchdown point. Factors were: a power failure due to a sheared accessory drive gear, excessive airspeed and altitude, and a soft field.
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 engine lost power when the airplane was at an altitude of 10,000 feet MSL. The pilot's attempts to restore power were unsuccessful. He attempted to make a forced landing on a farm airstrip, but his altitude and airspeed were excessive and he overshot. The pilot landed in an adjacent soft field and the airplane nosed over. The pilot later reported that the accessory drive gear had sheared.
Factual narrative
On April 22, 1994, approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, a Laurel Aero Club Cassutt III M, N8871, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Strasburg, Colorado. The private pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot/operator report, the engine lost power when the airplane was at an altitude of 10,000 feet MSL (mean sea level) and 10 to 12 miles north of Strasburg. The pilot's attempts to restore power were unsuccessful. He attempted to make a forced landing on a farm airstrip, but his altitude and airspeed were excessive and he overshot. The pilot landed in an adjacent soft field and the airplane nosed over. The pilot later reported the accessory drive gear had sheared.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8871
- Reported as
- Laurel Aero Club Cassutt III M (CASSUTT II)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 3C-1
- Airframe hours
- 350
- Engine
- Continental O-200-8F, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stevens, Wayne E. II
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 9, 1993 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- 01V · Aurora, CO
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 256 total · 113 in this make and model · 216 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.