Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lodi, California 95242
Monday, October 31, 2005 15:45 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During cruise, the engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing in an orchard, separating the right wing at the root. The pilot said he departed on the flight with one fuel tank at the "tabs, and the other fuel tank contained 7-8 gallons." Approximately 25 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted unsuccessfully to restart the engine and had to force land the airplane. The mechanic who performed the annual inspection indicated that the airplane had been tied down outside during the 2 months between the inspection and the accident flight. A Safety Board investigator conducted an engine inspection and engine ground test run with no discrepancies found that would have precluded normal operation of the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/31/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Lodi
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95242
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 380083N
Event Location Longitude 1212193W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID SCK
Elevation of weather observation facility 24
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.27
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21277
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 31 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2007 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-OAK-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N83785
NTSB Number LAX06LA023
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8116211
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 8240
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Leland A. Rosenau
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lodi
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95242
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 O20
Departure City Lodi
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1525
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code O20
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 22 2007 2:39PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --