Muscatine Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Wednesday, May 16, 2001 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane nosed over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power on initial climb after takeoff. The pilot reported that, "At approx. 400' AGL the RPM started to fall off. I checked carb heat, mixture. Both set properly. Pumped throttle since it seemed like the problem could be fuel flow. (Tanks were full, fuel valve turned to right tank, fuel pump on.) After 10-15 seconds from begining of problem the engine stopped." The pilot landed the aircraft in a field containing a tree line, an irrigation system and a drainage ditch. The pilot said, "The soil was soft and sandy. On touchdown the gear dug in and the plane flipped over to its back." An examination of the aircraft failed to reveal any anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The engine failure for undetermined reasons. Factors were the low altitude, the trees, the presence of the irrigation system, the ditch and the soft ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/16/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Muscatine
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 52761
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport MUSCATINE MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MUT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 240
Airport Elevation 548
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1845 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID MUT
Elevation of weather observation facility 548
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 2
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.62
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11575
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 16 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1916
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2002 9:31AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Des Moines, Iowa

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4348Q
NTSB Number CHI01LA142
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Baldwin
Aircraft Model RV-6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20771
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17.7
Airframe Hours 341.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James E. Hughes
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1520 Devitt Ave.
Aircraft Owner City Muscatine
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 52761
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MUT
Departure City Muscatine
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1850
Departure Time Zone UTC
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 9 2002 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --