ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Hi Guys,
I haven't been on here lately, but thought I'd pass along my latest adventure.  I moved my Max to Jerseyville, Ill., for awhile - to fly off grass.  My plane is based at Smartt Field in St. Charles County, Mo.  I took of on a local flight to look at some airports in that part of Ill. Takeoff  was fine and was climbing out over Jerseyville when my engine quit.  Since I was pretty much right over the city I made a 180 back toward the airport and farmer's fields.  Didn't make the airport, so I put it down in a corn field!  Not a good choice, but the only one I had. The corn was tall and soon as my axal hit it I lost a lot of airspeed and the plane ended up on it's nose.  I walked (or limped) away from it but the plane took a lot of damage to the front end!  Got some help and we used a flatbed to take it back to the hanger in Jerseyville. Don't know what happened.  I had a full tank of gas.  The engine (a Rotax 447) has been good running.  I've  flowen it succesfully for about five years now.  This is my first emergency landing, ever!  Fortunately my training took over and I got it down "O.K."  Any thoughts or similar experiences?
Don Glennie
MiniMax 1600 R

Gidday Don,

Thanks for sharing your story and I'm glad your down safe, and you can repair your aircraft.

I would really like to know the cause of your engine stoppage.

Have you had time to investigate the cause..?

A couple of suggestions...The simple things...would be fuel filters as they can block. It amazes me how often they are over looked. Also check the diaphragm in the fuel pulse pump. Check your carby bowl for water etc.

Was there any mechanical noises or rough running...or did the engine just stop.

regards Arthur  

I'd look at the top end of the engine as well....
Inspect cylinder walls for scoring.
It may have siezed and will unsieze when cooled down.
lack of oil or improper warm up tends to cause this among other things.

Also Ignition systems can give trouble too....  with immediate stoppages.

I am glad you are ok, and I hope the incident will not affect your flying for very long. It would be good if you could share what caused the stoppage with us. Many of the aircraft we fly are powered by the 447 ( mine included ). Best wishes in getting back into the air.

I haven't been able to determine the cause of the stopage, as yet.  I'll let everyone know if and or when I do!

Great job getting yourself down safe and sound! Thank goodness you were prepared and continued to fly the plane all the way.

thankful you are down and ok...planes are replaceable people are not.  keep us posted

Good job Don! You did the right thing.
I hope you can find why the engine stop running, fix your plane real soon and be back in the air again.
I would like to see some pictures of the plane after the forced landing if possible.
Ricardo

Glad to hear you're in one piece Don. I too am very interested in any findings as I have the same set up and will be in the air within a year.

Take care, -Sean

Some questions
Single carb or dual?
Did the engine turn over after you landed?
Have you restarted the engine yet?
Did you pull the spark plugs and inspect them before you restarted the engine?  If you did what color were the electrodes?
Any air bubbles in your fuel lines?
Did you check if your fuel tank venting?
Did it sputter before it quit or just stop or even speed up a little before it quit?

I will start with these for now and I will have more questions after you answer these.

Tom