- Date
- July 14, 1996, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mandeville, AR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N83FSSmith RV4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960714046169A
- Case key
- 19911
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
a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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
While on short final for runway 18, the pilot advanced the engine throttle to maintain glide path, but the engine did not respond. The airplane came to rest in water about 200 yards short of the approach end of the runway.
Factual narrative
On July 14, 1996, at 1700 central daylight time, a Smith RV4, N83FS, owned and operated by a private owner, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Mandeville, Louisiana. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91. A flight plan was not filed for the cross country flight that originated near Stennis, Missouri at 1645.
According to the pilot, the airplane was about 1/2 mile from the end of runway 18 when he "added additional power to maintain glide path. There was no response from the engine." The airplane impacted the water about 200 yards from the approach end of the runway. The lower fuselage and leading edge of both wings were damaged.
An engine tear down was not performed, and the cause of the loss of engine power could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83FS
- Reported as
- Smith RV4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 3083
- Airframe hours
- 428
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Francis H. Smith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1996 · 17 hours before
- Departed
- HSA · Stennis, MS
- Destination
- NEW · New Orleans, LA
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
- 78
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,600 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 3,600 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 95 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.