What happened
On 9 February 2000, a Cessna 150F, registered ZS-EGX, was conducting a private flight from Port Alfred toward Grahamstown. The aircraft was carrying two occupants, a pilot and his son. Roughly 15 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet AGL, the engine suffered a sudden drop in power, with RPM falling from 2500 to 1900.
As the aircraft passed abeam the Prospect aerodrome, the pilot attempted to reach the runway for a landing. However, a 15-knot easterly wind prevented the aircraft from reaching the strip. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing in a ploughed field located about 300 meters short of the runway. Upon impact with the soft terrain, the nose wheel dug into the earth, leading to a failure of the nose wheel mounting. The impact caused damage to the propeller, the engine cowling, and the left wing. There were no injuries to the occupants.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined the circumstances surrounding the engine failure and the subsequent landing. The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the engine and the environmental factors present during the descent. The investigators analyzed the impact on the field and the resulting structural damage to the Cessuna 150F.
Findings
- The primary issue was a sudden loss of engine power during the flight.
- Carburettor icing was identified as a possible cause for the power loss, though the exact cause could not be definitively confirmed.
- The pilot's inability to reach the runway was due to the influence of a 15-knot easterly wind.
- The structural damage to the aircraft was a direct result of the nose wheel digging into the soft, ploughed ground during the forced landing.