Primary finding
Probable cause
Loss of engine power due to an undetermined reason. A factor relating to the accident was: the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
When the instructor advanced the throttle to terminate a simulated emergency landing, the engine did not respond. A forced landing was made across the rows in a plowed field. During the landing roll, the nose gear separated and the airplane came to rest inverted. The engine was test run following the accident and no discrepancies were found.
Source record
Factual narrative
On August 18, 1995, at 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna A150L, N6041J, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Paragould, Arkansas. The commercial pilot/flight instructor and the dual student pilot were not injured. The airplane departed from Kirk Field in Paragould at 1330 for the local instructional flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. According to the flight instructor, he and the student were practicing touch and go landings. Following the third takeoff, the flight instructor initiated a "simulated emergency situation" by retarding the throttle and applying carburetor heat. When the instructor advanced the throttle to terminate the maneuver, "no increase in rpm occurred." A forced landing was made across the rows in a plowed field. During the landing roll, the nose gear separated and the airplane came to rest inverted. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the engine was test run following the accident and no discrepancies were found. -