BEECH 77 — Hemet, CA

What happened

During the student pilot’s second solo cross-country flight, he flew about 25 miles south to Hemet, California, to perform takeoffs and landings. The student pilot was operating on the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, when a witness, also flying in the traffic pattern, heard the student pilot’s distress call stating that the airplane had sustained a loss of engine power.

The student pilot’s approach path to runway 23 overshot his intended landing point and he transmitted a radio call indicating that he was going around. The student pilot made a left turn, and the airplane touched down in a dirt field just over a mile southeast of the departure end of runway 23. From the initial touchdown point ground scar in the dirt field, three additional ground scars were observed on a track of 110° and the airplane traveled about 665 ft, before impacting an 8-ft-high cinder block wall near a residential area. The impact and thermal damage were consistent with a high-energy impact as revealed by the engine compartment, cabin and both wings having breached the cinder block wall.

Although impact and thermal damage restricted the position confirmation of the ignition switch, throttle, mixture, carburetor heat, and flap positions, postaccident examination of the fuel selector valve revealed that the fuel selector remained in the “On” position. Additionally, postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller revealed “S” bending, chordwise scratches, and leading-edge material gouges that were indicative of engine power during impact.

Given the icing probability, the student pilot may have experienced carburetor icing that led to a partial loss of engine power while operating on the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern. With the student pilot’s limited flight experience, it is likely that he overshot the intended runway during the forced landing, consistent with eyewitness statements that the airplane’s approach was too fast to land on runway 23.

While a partial loss of engine power can be experienced when carburetor icing occurs, the student pilot did not specify the degree of engine power loss. The false sense of intermittent engine power and the drag experienced during the airplane’s multiple touchdown points in the soft dirt field suggest that the loss of engine power was partial in nature, however, the investigation could not determine the extent of the loss of engine power.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.