Osceola Municipal , Mo Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Osceola, Missouri 64776
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 9:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot was flying his homebuilt airplane on a cross-country flight at 5,500 feet mean sea level when he encountered some turbulence. The engine began to overheat and lose power and the pilot diverted to a nearby airport. The pilot could not make the runway and landed on a grassy, unimproved area on the airport. The airplane struck a pole, crossed a road, struck a second pole, and came to rest inverted. Both wings and a portion of the nose were separated from the airplane and the pilot was seriously injured. The pilot stated that he thought he had inadvertently actuated the landing brake in the turbulence, which blocked airflow to the engine and caused the engine to overheat and lose power. According to the builders manual, deployment of the landing brake can disrupt airflow to the engine and cause overheating. The airplane had been modified from the original design, replacing the mechanical landing brake system with an electrical one.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power due to an obstruction of airflow as a result of the pilot's inadvertent actuation of the landing brake.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/5/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 945
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Osceola
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64776
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Osceola Municipal Airport, MO
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3MO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 955 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID SZL
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 13000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 28
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.78
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report 9:55 AM 67.6 °F 53.6 °F 61% 29.78 in 10.0 miles
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25698
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 3 2009 5:27PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N637PS
NTSB Number CEN09LA051
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 JOHNSON LEONARD G
Aircraft Model COZY MK-IV
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 287
Certified Max Gross Weight 2086
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Apr 3 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 119
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name JOHNSON LEONARD G
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1038 E BASTANCHURY RD # 286
Aircraft Owner City FULLERTON
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92835-2786
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name LEONARD G. JOHNSON
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 1038 E BASTANCHURY RD # 286
Operator City FULLERTON
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92835
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 3SQ
Departure City St Charles Muni
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TDW
Destination City Amarillo
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2009 11:45AM
User who most recently changed record bakd
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --