A pilot failed to lean his PA-28-151 engine during climb out and fouled spark plugs may have been th...

Attributes
ACN	1043841
Time
Date	201210
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 5.6 Flight Crew Total 110.7 Flight Crew Type 31.7
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

Narrative:

I was receiving flight following services from ATC; and I had recently descended from 10;500 ft to 8;500 ft for traffic. As I was in the vicinity of a large class C airport; my engine started to run rough. I turned on the fuel pump and switched tanks in an attempt to remedy the situation; but the engine was still running rough. At that point; I advised ATC of the situation and my intent to make a precautionary landing at the nearby class C airport. This request was approved; and I descended and landed on runway 26L without incident. On the ramp for the FBO; I did a series of ground checks. I found no issues at that time; and the problem appeared to have cleared itself. Concluding that the aircraft was airworthy; I made an uneventful flight to my planned destination. In hindsight; I believe the issue may have been a fouled spark plug due to my failure to lean the mixture as I made my initial climb to 10;500 ft. The problem appeared to resolve itself during ground checks at the divert airport.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot failed to lean his PA-28-151 engine during climb out and fouled spark plugs may have been the reason for a rough running engine; which resulted in a precautionary diversion.

Narrative: I was receiving flight following services from ATC; and I had recently descended from 10;500 FT to 8;500 FT for traffic. As I was in the vicinity of a large Class C airport; my engine started to run rough. I turned on the fuel pump and switched tanks in an attempt to remedy the situation; but the engine was still running rough. At that point; I advised ATC of the situation and my intent to make a precautionary landing at the nearby Class C airport. This request was approved; and I descended and landed on Runway 26L without incident. On the ramp for the FBO; I did a series of ground checks. I found no issues at that time; and the problem appeared to have cleared itself. Concluding that the aircraft was airworthy; I made an uneventful flight to my planned destination. In hindsight; I believe the issue may have been a fouled spark plug due to my failure to lean the mixture as I made my initial climb to 10;500 FT. The problem appeared to resolve itself during ground checks at the divert airport.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.