Chicago/Rockford Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rockford, Illinois 61109
Saturday, July 21, 2007 12:28 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot executed a forced landing following a loss of engine power during cruise flight. The airplane was part of a formation flight at the time of the initial loss of engine power. The pilot stated that about 10 minutes after takeoff, the engine "began to hesitate during large throttle excursions and faltered upon [application of] full throttle." He left the formation with the intention of returning to the departure airport. However, "the engine began making loud noises and the RPM sagged to 2,000," with the manifold pressure approximately 10 inches. He subsequently executed a forced landing to a cornfield. A post accident engine examination did not reveal any anomalies associated with a pre-impact engine failure. The engine assembly was subsequently run on a test stand for approximately 30 minutes. No anomalies were detected during the engine run.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a forced landing. A contributing factor was the unsuitable terrain (corn field) encountered during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/21/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1228
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Rockford
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61109
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 421143N
Event Location Longitude 0890550W
Event Location Airport Chicago/Rockford Intl
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RFD
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 1154 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID RFD
Elevation of weather observation facility 742
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.27
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KRFD 211654Z 05008KT 10SM FEW040 SCT250 24/1
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23450
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 21 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-DuPage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N313W
NTSB Number CHI07LA224
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model V35B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number D-10363
Certified Max Gross Weight 3500
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3242
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Kelly S. McBride
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Woodland Hills
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91364
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 No
Departure Airport Code RFD
Departure City Rockford
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OSH
Destination City Oshkosh
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 14 2008 8:52AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
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 --