- Date
- August 29, 2003, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pawtucket, RI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2550APiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20030829020759A
- Case key
- 57814
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
The student pilot was on final approach for a touch and go landing when he reduced the throttle slightly and the engine lost power. The airplane was about 350 feet above the ground, and he performed a forced landing into trees. The airplane came to rest inverted, about 1/2 mile from the airport. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On August 29, 2003, about 1100 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-38-112, N2550A, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees, after experiencing a loss of engine power while landing at the North Central State Airport (SFZ), Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed the Theodore Francis Green State Airport (PVD), Providence, Rhode Island. The solo instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The student pilot reported he intended to perform touch and go landings at SFZ, which was located about 12 miles north of PVD. He entered the traffic pattern for runway 23, a 5,000-foot-long, 150-foot-wide, asphalt runway; however, while on final approach, the pilot reduced the throttle slightly and the engine quit. The airplane was about 350 feet above the ground, and the pilot performed a forced landing into trees. The airplane came to rest inverted, about 1/2 mile from the airport.
The airplane and engine were examined by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. Inspection of the engine fuel, intake and ignition systems did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions. Visual examination of the spark plugs revealed they were all light gray in color, except the number 2 top spark plug, which was oil soaked.
The student pilot reported 63 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2550A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-78A0751
- Airframe hours
- 12,352
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lincoln Flight Center Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 16, 2003 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- PVD · Providence, RI
- Destination
- SFZ · Pawtucket, RI
- Airport
- SFZ · North Central State, runway 23, 5,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 63 total · 63 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- SFZ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.