Event
During the en route portion of the flight, the pilot maneuvered the airplane into a descent while moving the throttle aft. Approximately seven seconds later, the engine suddenly lost power, and the propeller began windmilling. The pilot glided the airplane toward a residential street and made numerous attempts to restart the engine, but it failed to produce power. The airplane's left main landing gear impacted terrain, and the left wing collided with obstacles, causing the airplane to skid down the road.
Prior Failure
The airplane had experienced a similar failure several months before the accident. After that occurrence, a mechanic inspected the airplane but could not reproduce the failure, reporting no difficulty starting and running the engine.
Investigation
Investigators examined the airplane and engine, including a 20-minute test run in an instrumented test cell. The examination found no discrepancies that would have precluded the engine from being capable of producing power. The airplane's fuel system, by design, was not prone to fuel vapor problems.