SPARTA, TN, USA
N7254L
AMERICAN AVIATION AA-1A
On November 4, 2022, about 1715 central standard time, an American Aviation AA-1A, N7254L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sparta, Tennessee. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 test flight According to the pilot, he intended to conduct a post-maintenance test flight in the airplane, which had undergone an annual inspection the day before. He performed a thorough preflight inspection, and engine run-up prior to takeoff with no anomalies observed. After takeoff, the pilot climbed to 6,500 ft mean sea level (msl) while conducting rectangular patterns directly over the airport for several minutes and then initiated a descent to 4,500 ft msl. During the descent, without any warning, the airplane experienced a sudden and complete loss of engine power. The pilot’s attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. As the airplane continued to descend, he approached the airport on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern abeam the runway 22 “numbers” at 4,000 ft msl (2,075 agl). The airplane too high to land on the runway and the pilot conducted a side slip to lose altitude, but over-corrected and was too low to reach the runway. He then elected to perform a forced landing in a field about 1/2 mile before the runway. The pilot flew below powerlines and landed hard on hilly rough terrain. The airplane struck a fence and brush before coming to rest on the downward slope of a hill. Initial examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the left and right wings were crushed at multiple locations, and the fuselage was crushed under the engine compartment. An initial examination of the engine revealed that the carburetor heat butterfly valve was in the open (cold) position, fuel was present in the carburetor and the fuel pumps operated and showed no anomalous behavior. Engine crankshaft continuity was established, and the spark plugs showed normal colorization. The airplane was retained for further examination.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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