Incident Overview
After takeoff on a local pleasure flight, the pilot encountered known thunderstorms nearby. The pilot flew away from the airport and waited for the storms to clear the airport area, then elected to return.
Sequence of Events
The pilot entered the traffic pattern for runway 31 and performed a go-around. He then reentered the traffic pattern for runway 31. While on the base leg, the pilot observed that the precision approach path indicator (PAPI) lights indicated the flight was low. He added full power, but the engine did not respond. He turned off the carburetor heat, verified the mixture control was full rich, and adjusted the aircraft pitch to maintain 60 knots. He turned onto final approach and, after recognizing that he would be unable to land on the runway, elected to ditch the airplane.
Post-Incident Examination
Examination of the aircraft and engine following recovery revealed no pre-crash anomalies.