Sampson County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Roseboro, North Carolina 28382
Thursday, August 17, 2006 10:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that approximately 10 minutes into his flight, while cruising at 900 feet, the engine "backfired" and lost power. The pilot's attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful, and he chose to make a forced landing in a field. During the approach to land, he realized that he could not make it to field, and he made a sharp right turn to attempt to land at another field. The right wing impacted the ground and the airplane spun around horizontally. The airplane was equipped with a Subaru E-81, 80hp automotive engine. The owner of the airplane and a local mechanic examined the engine; and observed that the distributor was free to move. There were marks on the distributor base 1/8 to 3/16 inches long. The pilot stated that there was enough movement to cause the engine to "backfire and subsequent engine failure."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain ground clearance while maneuvering for a forced landing following loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/17/2006
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1015
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Roseboro
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28382
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345812N
Event Location Longitude 0782137W
Event Location Airport SAMPSON COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CTZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 148
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1022 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID KCTZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 148
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
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 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21044
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communication Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 17 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2007 11:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Greensboro FSDO-05

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N227AL
NTSB Number ATL06LA121
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 Kirkpatrick
Aircraft Model Rans S-6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 792334
Certified Max Gross Weight 1250
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 35
Airframe Hours 235
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John F Patterson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1500 Elizabethtown
Aircraft Owner City Roseboro
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28382
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name John Francis Patterson
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. Box 211
Operator City Roseboro
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 28382
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 No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Roseboro
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Linden
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 21 2006 10:42AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
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 --