Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387
Saturday, September 25, 2010 18:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was performing basic flight maneuvers and experienced a total loss of engine power. The airplane began to descend and the pilot attempted to restart the engine; however, his attempts were unsuccessful. The pilot performed a forced landing in a field. During the landing, the airplane impacted rough terrain, flipped over and came to rest inverted. A postaccident examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed no evidence of preexisting mechanical anomalies. The engine ran satisfactorily after the accident. While the FAA's Carburetor Icing Chart revealed “Serious icing (glide power)” for the reported temperature and dew point conditions, the investigation could not conclusively determine that carburetor ice caused the loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/25/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1830
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Yellow Springs
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45387
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 394801N
Event Location Longitude 0835014W
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
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) 27716
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 17 2010 4:13PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N22GZ
NTSB Number CEN10LA566
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name HOLMES GARY DON
Aircraft Model RUTAN LONG-EZ
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1081
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 13 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1086
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name WRAY CURTIS W
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2051 TURNBULL RD
Aircraft Owner City BEAVERCREEK
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45431-3226
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WRAY CURTIS W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2051 TURNBULL RD
Operator City BEAVERCREEK
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 45431-3226
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 SGH
Departure City Springfield
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1810
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SGH
Destination City Springfield
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2011 3:16PM
User who most recently changed record broda
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 --