Incident Details
A flight instructor reported that the engine began to run rough as a student pilot was recovering from the third power-off stall in a series. The instructor applied power smoothly and turned the carburetor heat off, but the engine continued to run rough and quit approximately five seconds later. The instructor then took over the controls and attempted to restart the engine. During the second restart attempt, the instructor pulled the starter handle, which separated from the panel.
A forced landing was executed to a soft field. Although the touchdown was successful, the nose wheel dug in during the landing roll, causing the airplane to nose over.
Postaccident Inspection
During the postaccident inspection, the engine was run to 2500 rpm and operated smoothly with no discrepancies noted. Both magnetos were checked and found operational. The carburetor heat control was also checked and found operational. The pull-to-start knob was inspected and found to have pulled off the metal shaft that runs through the panel. Additionally, the metal shaft had pulled away from the cable that runs to the starter lever.