Accident Details
On September 1, 2018, about 1715 central daylight time, a Diamond Aircraft DA 40, registration N388MA, operated by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field following a total loss of engine power during approach to Maury County Airport (MRC), Mount Pleasant, Tennessee. The private pilot incurred minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed MRC about 1615.
The pilot reported that after flying for approximately 40 minutes, he returned to MRC and entered the traffic pattern for runway 6. While on a downwind leg, he reduced engine power in preparation for landing; however, the engine lost all power. The pilot advanced the throttle in an unsuccessful attempt to regain power and then attempted an engine restart with no success. Realizing the airplane could not glide to the runway, he performed a forced landing to a field about 1 mile from the runway 6 threshold.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, low-wing, fixed tricycle-gear airplane was manufactured in 2005. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360-M1A, 180-horsepower engine equipped with a constant-speed, two-blade Hartzell propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on January 9, 2018, at which time the airframe and engine had accrued 1,346 hours since new. An additional 40 hours were flown between that inspection and the accident. The left and right fuel tanks each held 20.6 gallons of fuel, with 0.5 gallon unusable in each tank. According to a representative from the aircraft manufacturer, fuel unporting is possible with 4 to 6 gallons remaining in a fuel tank but is more probable if the airplane is in a bank greater than a 45° angle.
Examination Findings
Examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that during the landing, the nose landing gear and left main landing gear collapsed, and the empennage separated from the airframe. The inspector noted some damage to the wings, but their respective fuel tanks remained intact. Approximately 4 gallons of fuel were drained from the left fuel tank and 10 to 11 gallons from the right fuel tank. The fuel was 100-low-lead aviation fuel, bright, clear, and absent of visible contamination. The fuel selector was found positioned to the left fuel tank before being moved to the off position by rescue personnel.
Following recovery to a storage facility, the inspector rotated the engine crankshaft by hand, confirming crankshaft, camshaft, and valve train continuity to the rear accessory section. The engine had sat for almost 10 months, and thumb compression was not attained on three of the four cylinders; however, borescope examination of the cylinders revealed no anomalies. The mechanical fuel pump and magnetos tested satisfactorily. Air blown through the fuel lines showed no blockages. The fuel servo contained residual fuel, its filter was absent of debris, and the oil filter showed no metallic contamination.