Narrative:

We got the key for aircraft X. I executed the pre-flight on aircraft X; the passenger also did a second pre-flight on the aircraft after I was done. We executed the pre-flight using the checklist and determined the aircraft was safe to fly. The CFI then did a pre-flight of the aircraft and we all determined the aircraft was safe to fly. We all got on board. I started my before starting checklist including a passenger brief. We continued following the checklist and taxied to the run-up area and we did the run-up checklist. The right magneto showed a drop of 110 RPM; and the left magneto a drop of 100 RPM. Everything was within the standards. We asked ground for an east departure; they assigned xxr via taxiway C and a. While on taxiway C we ask the ground if we could take off from runway xy since the winds were [favoring that runway]. We held short of runway xy and executed the before to (takeoff) checklist completely. We did a thorough takeoff briefing like before every departure. The tower cleared us for takeoff. We were monitoring the RPM as well as the fuel flow. Everything was within standards. We executed a short-field to with 2 notch of flaps. We started our roll; we rotated and stayed in ground effect. Upon reaching 63 kts we left ground effect and started our climb. After passing 100 ft I retracted the first notch of flaps. After reaching 65 kts I retracted the 2nd of flaps at around 160 ft and maintained positive rate of climb. Shortly after; we noticed an engine roughness with no RPM drops. The CFI took the controls. At that time; we were at 260 ft. He made sure the mixture was full rich with the throttle in full with the fuel selector full on the tank. Shortly after we had another engine roughness with RPM drop we applied carburetor heat and informed the tower. We looked for a safe place to land; the tower cleared us for runway xxr. While on downwind the RPM kept dropping and climbing. After the 3rd time the RPM completely dropped; we informed the tower that we needed to land and turned right maintaining 260 ft. We found a field on the right and decided to land on the road just south of the airport. On final the RPM raised again and upon touchdown the engine completely quit. We landed safely on the access road without sustaining any damage to the aircraft or any injuries to the souls on board. We then applied full brakes; and came to a full stop. Tower told us to keep monitoring the frequency until the fire trucks got to us. We secured the aircraft and waited until the first responders got on the scene.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 flight instructor and students; reported erratic engine performance before engine failure; resulting in an off airport landing.

Narrative: We got the key for Aircraft X. I executed the pre-flight on Aircraft X; the passenger also did a second pre-flight on the aircraft after I was done. We executed the pre-flight using the checklist and determined the aircraft was safe to fly. The CFI then did a pre-flight of the aircraft and we all determined the aircraft was safe to fly. We all got on board. I started my before starting checklist including a passenger brief. We continued following the checklist and taxied to the run-up area and we did the run-up checklist. The right magneto showed a drop of 110 RPM; and the left magneto a drop of 100 RPM. Everything was within the standards. We asked Ground for an East departure; they assigned XXR via taxiway C and A. While on taxiway C we ask the ground if we could take off from runway XY since the winds were [favoring that runway]. We held short of runway XY and executed the before TO (Takeoff) checklist completely. We did a thorough takeoff briefing like before every departure. The tower cleared us for takeoff. We were monitoring the RPM as well as the fuel flow. Everything was within standards. We executed a short-field TO with 2 notch of flaps. We started our roll; we rotated and stayed in ground effect. Upon reaching 63 kts we left ground effect and started our climb. After passing 100 ft I retracted the first notch of flaps. After reaching 65 kts I retracted the 2nd of flaps at around 160 ft and maintained positive rate of climb. Shortly after; we noticed an engine roughness with no RPM drops. The CFI took the controls. At that time; we were at 260 ft. He made sure the mixture was full rich with the throttle in full with the fuel selector full on the tank. Shortly after we had another engine roughness with RPM drop we applied carburetor heat and informed the tower. We looked for a safe place to land; the tower cleared us for runway XXR. While on downwind the RPM kept dropping and climbing. After the 3rd time the RPM completely dropped; we informed the tower that we needed to land and turned right maintaining 260 ft. We found a field on the right and decided to land on the road just South of the airport. On final the RPM raised again and upon touchdown the engine completely quit. We landed safely on the access road without sustaining any damage to the aircraft or any injuries to the souls on board. We then applied full brakes; and came to a full stop. Tower told us to keep monitoring the frequency until the fire trucks got to us. We secured the aircraft and waited until the first responders got on the scene.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.