HOLMES GARY DON RUTAN LONG-EZ

Full Narrative

On September 25, 2010, approximately 1830 eastern daylight time, a Holmes Rutan Long-EZ single-engine airplane, N22GZ, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a field following a loss of engine power near Yellow Springs, Ohio. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant and registered owner, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight departed the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (SGH), Springfield, Ohio, approximately 1810.

The pilot reported that he was preparing his airplane for an upcoming trip and decided to fly a short local trip to make sure everything was in order. After departure from the local airport, the pilot executed several turns, slow flight maneuvers, and an approach to landing stall at an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot then wanted a greater altitude safety margin and began a climb to greater than 4,000 feet msl. After passing through 4,000 feet msl, he began to execute a power on accelerated stall, and the engine abruptly quit. During the descent, the pilot attempted to restart the engine; however, the restarts were unsuccessful. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane impacted rough terrain, flipped over and came to rest inverted.

Following the accident, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors examined the airplane. Examination of the airplane showed damage to both composite wings and the fuselage. The airplane and engine were recovered for further examination.

After the airplane was recovered to the pilot's storage facility, a test run of the engine was attempted by the inspectors and the pilot. The inspector reported, "It took about 40 seconds of running the fuel pump in order to prime the system, but then the engine was able to run. It ran for about a minute then was shut down. It was started again and it fired up immediately."

The 1856 weather observation for SGH, located about 1 mile north of the accident site, included the following: sky clear, winds 330 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 5 statute miles, temperature 20 degrees Celsius, dew point 9 degrees Celsius, and altimeter setting of 30.03 inches of mercury. The Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Bulletin number CE-09-35, titled “Carburetor Icing Prevention,” includes a chart indicating conditions conducive to carburetor icing. For the approximate ambient temperature and dew point at the time of the accident, the flight was conducted in “Serious icing (glide power)” conditions.