Narrative:

In retrospect and to the best of my knowledge, taking into consideration the short amount of time in which the events took place, this is my best recollection of the incident which took place on jul/zz/98 at approximately XA50Z. The airplane we were in was a C150, tail number nxxx. We departed concord (buchanan field) and headed straight to the northeast (heading 060 degrees) from the field. The wind was from the southwest at about 20 KTS. The sky was broken at 2500 ft AGL when we immediately took off, but approximately 10 mi out from the airport the sky was clear. We climbed directly to 2000 ft MSL and I instructed my student to put the airplane into a 'slow flight' confign which is 40 degrees of flaps and maintaining level flight at approximately 55 KIAS. He pulled the throttle back to 1500 RPM, applied carburetor heat, extended full flaps (40 degrees) and let the airspeed decrease. The airspeed went well below 55 KIAS before he added power back to the engine and he spent a few mins trying to get the airspeed back up to 55 KIAS. During this time, we lost about 200 ft in altitude. I then told him that it would be too hard to get back up to the altitude and speed because he had let the airspeed get too low to begin with, so I took over the controls of the airplane and told him I would demonstrate the proper procedure for setting up in slow flight. Once I took the controls I pushed the throttle completely in, turned off the carburetor heat and retracted the flaps. I climbed back up to 2000 ft MSL and let the airspeed return to about 80 KIAS. (During this entire time, we remained on a heading of 060 degrees.) I then pulled the RPM back to 1500 RPM, applied carburetor heat and extended full flaps. As soon as the airspeed decreased to 55 KIAS, I brought the rpms back up to 2000 RPM. I was unable to maintain level flight in this confign so I gave the engine full throttle and turned off the carburetor heat. The airplane still would not remain in level flight. I then tried to lean the mixture out to provide a little more power. Even at peak, it was not enough to maintain altitude. The rpms were now at about 2300 RPM, flaps were still at 40 degrees. The following events happened very quickly. As I leaned the mixture to peak and realized it still would not stay level, I decided that the current conditions (ie, outside temperature) were not going to allow us to adequately practice slow flight (I was at about 1800 ft MSL), so I retracted the flaps and initiated a climb back to 2000 ft MSL. I went back to leaning the mixture, at peak egt I was about to enrich the mixture when the engine went to idle. I pushed mixture full rich, I was still at full throttle and the carburetor heat was still off. I was at about 1900 ft MSL when this happened. The engine did not sputter and die, it just immediately went to idle power. The propeller was windmilling. Our heading and the strong tailwind had carried us out over the windmill farm that is located about 10 mi northwest of the antioch bridge on the north side of the river. Therefore, as soon as I realized my engine had failed I pitched the airplane for 60 KIAS (best glide speed) and initiated 180 degree right turn. Once I was turned in the opposite direction and gliding back in the direction of concord airport (and away from the windmill farm) I was at about 1500 ft MSL. I initiated the emergency engine restart procedure as indicated on the emergency checklist. I made sure mixture was full rich, throttle was all the way in, I turned on the carburetor heat, made sure the fuel selector was on, checked each magneto individually and made sure the primer was locked. The engine did not respond. I tuned the transponder to 7700. I also began adjusting the throttle, thinking that if somehow the fuel line had been clogged I could use the throttle to pump fuel through the clog. As I moved the throttle in and out, the engine would sputter, but still not regain power. While I was doing this I announced my emergency over 119.7 (concord tower frequency). I announced the emergency as follows: 'concord tower, cessna XXX, 10 mi northwest of the antioch bridge, we've had an engine failure, this is not a drill, we are making an emergency landing. There are 2 people on board.' immediately after this, I went through the emergency restart procedure a second time exactly the same order as before except this time I stomped on the fuel selector valve with my heel to assure it was down far enough. There was still no response from the engine. So, I went back to adjusting the throttle as this was the only thing that made the engine respond at all, it continued to barely sputter as I adjusted the throttle. At this point I was 500-800 ft MSL. As I had heard nothing in reply to my original emergency broadcast over the radio, I announced the emergency again as follows: 'mayday, mayday, mayday, concord tower, this is cessna XXX, 10 mi northwest of the antioch bridge. We've had an engine failure and we're making an emergency landing. We're a cessna 150, 2 persons on board.' now, realizing that the engine was definitely not going to restart, and also realizing our headwind was too strong to allow us to glide beyond the hills that were below us, I looked for a long enough flat spot amongst the hills to land. About 400 ft MSL, I found a spot to land, extended full flaps and landed the airplane. As soon as we landed, I radioed to concord tower that we were on the ground and that no one was injured. I do not recall at what point the engine stopped running altogether and the propeller stopped windmilling. I shut off the ignition after landing, but I think the propeller had already stopped before that. As far as I could tell there was no damage to the aircraft (a 3 inch plastic piece of the nosewheel fairing cracked off), and there appeared to be no property damage. Again, the events I described are as best as I can recall. All altitudes are estimated after the point that the engine initially died.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C150 INSTRUCTOR HAD ENG FAILURE, REQUIRING A FORCED LNDG.

Narrative: IN RETROSPECT AND TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME IN WHICH THE EVENTS TOOK PLACE, THIS IS MY BEST RECOLLECTION OF THE INCIDENT WHICH TOOK PLACE ON JUL/ZZ/98 AT APPROX XA50Z. THE AIRPLANE WE WERE IN WAS A C150, TAIL NUMBER NXXX. WE DEPARTED CONCORD (BUCHANAN FIELD) AND HEADED STRAIGHT TO THE NE (HDG 060 DEGS) FROM THE FIELD. THE WIND WAS FROM THE SW AT ABOUT 20 KTS. THE SKY WAS BROKEN AT 2500 FT AGL WHEN WE IMMEDIATELY TOOK OFF, BUT APPROX 10 MI OUT FROM THE ARPT THE SKY WAS CLR. WE CLBED DIRECTLY TO 2000 FT MSL AND I INSTRUCTED MY STUDENT TO PUT THE AIRPLANE INTO A 'SLOW FLT' CONFIGN WHICH IS 40 DEGS OF FLAPS AND MAINTAINING LEVEL FLT AT APPROX 55 KIAS. HE PULLED THE THROTTLE BACK TO 1500 RPM, APPLIED CARB HEAT, EXTENDED FULL FLAPS (40 DEGS) AND LET THE AIRSPD DECREASE. THE AIRSPD WENT WELL BELOW 55 KIAS BEFORE HE ADDED PWR BACK TO THE ENG AND HE SPENT A FEW MINS TRYING TO GET THE AIRSPD BACK UP TO 55 KIAS. DURING THIS TIME, WE LOST ABOUT 200 FT IN ALT. I THEN TOLD HIM THAT IT WOULD BE TOO HARD TO GET BACK UP TO THE ALT AND SPD BECAUSE HE HAD LET THE AIRSPD GET TOO LOW TO BEGIN WITH, SO I TOOK OVER THE CTLS OF THE AIRPLANE AND TOLD HIM I WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE PROPER PROC FOR SETTING UP IN SLOW FLT. ONCE I TOOK THE CTLS I PUSHED THE THROTTLE COMPLETELY IN, TURNED OFF THE CARB HEAT AND RETRACTED THE FLAPS. I CLBED BACK UP TO 2000 FT MSL AND LET THE AIRSPD RETURN TO ABOUT 80 KIAS. (DURING THIS ENTIRE TIME, WE REMAINED ON A HDG OF 060 DEGS.) I THEN PULLED THE RPM BACK TO 1500 RPM, APPLIED CARB HEAT AND EXTENDED FULL FLAPS. AS SOON AS THE AIRSPD DECREASED TO 55 KIAS, I BROUGHT THE RPMS BACK UP TO 2000 RPM. I WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN LEVEL FLT IN THIS CONFIGN SO I GAVE THE ENG FULL THROTTLE AND TURNED OFF THE CARB HEAT. THE AIRPLANE STILL WOULD NOT REMAIN IN LEVEL FLT. I THEN TRIED TO LEAN THE MIXTURE OUT TO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE PWR. EVEN AT PEAK, IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN ALT. THE RPMS WERE NOW AT ABOUT 2300 RPM, FLAPS WERE STILL AT 40 DEGS. THE FOLLOWING EVENTS HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY. AS I LEANED THE MIXTURE TO PEAK AND REALIZED IT STILL WOULD NOT STAY LEVEL, I DECIDED THAT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS (IE, OUTSIDE TEMP) WERE NOT GOING TO ALLOW US TO ADEQUATELY PRACTICE SLOW FLT (I WAS AT ABOUT 1800 FT MSL), SO I RETRACTED THE FLAPS AND INITIATED A CLB BACK TO 2000 FT MSL. I WENT BACK TO LEANING THE MIXTURE, AT PEAK EGT I WAS ABOUT TO ENRICH THE MIXTURE WHEN THE ENG WENT TO IDLE. I PUSHED MIXTURE FULL RICH, I WAS STILL AT FULL THROTTLE AND THE CARB HEAT WAS STILL OFF. I WAS AT ABOUT 1900 FT MSL WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE ENG DID NOT SPUTTER AND DIE, IT JUST IMMEDIATELY WENT TO IDLE PWR. THE PROP WAS WINDMILLING. OUR HDG AND THE STRONG TAILWIND HAD CARRIED US OUT OVER THE WINDMILL FARM THAT IS LOCATED ABOUT 10 MI NW OF THE ANTIOCH BRIDGE ON THE N SIDE OF THE RIVER. THEREFORE, AS SOON AS I REALIZED MY ENG HAD FAILED I PITCHED THE AIRPLANE FOR 60 KIAS (BEST GLIDE SPD) AND INITIATED 180 DEG R TURN. ONCE I WAS TURNED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND GLIDING BACK IN THE DIRECTION OF CONCORD ARPT (AND AWAY FROM THE WINDMILL FARM) I WAS AT ABOUT 1500 FT MSL. I INITIATED THE EMER ENG RESTART PROC AS INDICATED ON THE EMER CHKLIST. I MADE SURE MIXTURE WAS FULL RICH, THROTTLE WAS ALL THE WAY IN, I TURNED ON THE CARB HEAT, MADE SURE THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS ON, CHKED EACH MAGNETO INDIVIDUALLY AND MADE SURE THE PRIMER WAS LOCKED. THE ENG DID NOT RESPOND. I TUNED THE XPONDER TO 7700. I ALSO BEGAN ADJUSTING THE THROTTLE, THINKING THAT IF SOMEHOW THE FUEL LINE HAD BEEN CLOGGED I COULD USE THE THROTTLE TO PUMP FUEL THROUGH THE CLOG. AS I MOVED THE THROTTLE IN AND OUT, THE ENG WOULD SPUTTER, BUT STILL NOT REGAIN PWR. WHILE I WAS DOING THIS I ANNOUNCED MY EMER OVER 119.7 (CONCORD TWR FREQ). I ANNOUNCED THE EMER AS FOLLOWS: 'CONCORD TWR, CESSNA XXX, 10 MI NW OF THE ANTIOCH BRIDGE, WE'VE HAD AN ENG FAILURE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, WE ARE MAKING AN EMER LNDG. THERE ARE 2 PEOPLE ON BOARD.' IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS, I WENT THROUGH THE EMER RESTART PROC A SECOND TIME EXACTLY THE SAME ORDER AS BEFORE EXCEPT THIS TIME I STOMPED ON THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE WITH MY HEEL TO ASSURE IT WAS DOWN FAR ENOUGH. THERE WAS STILL NO RESPONSE FROM THE ENG. SO, I WENT BACK TO ADJUSTING THE THROTTLE AS THIS WAS THE ONLY THING THAT MADE THE ENG RESPOND AT ALL, IT CONTINUED TO BARELY SPUTTER AS I ADJUSTED THE THROTTLE. AT THIS POINT I WAS 500-800 FT MSL. AS I HAD HEARD NOTHING IN REPLY TO MY ORIGINAL EMER BROADCAST OVER THE RADIO, I ANNOUNCED THE EMER AGAIN AS FOLLOWS: 'MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, CONCORD TWR, THIS IS CESSNA XXX, 10 MI NW OF THE ANTIOCH BRIDGE. WE'VE HAD AN ENG FAILURE AND WE'RE MAKING AN EMER LNDG. WE'RE A CESSNA 150, 2 PERSONS ON BOARD.' NOW, REALIZING THAT THE ENG WAS DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO RESTART, AND ALSO REALIZING OUR HEADWIND WAS TOO STRONG TO ALLOW US TO GLIDE BEYOND THE HILLS THAT WERE BELOW US, I LOOKED FOR A LONG ENOUGH FLAT SPOT AMONGST THE HILLS TO LAND. ABOUT 400 FT MSL, I FOUND A SPOT TO LAND, EXTENDED FULL FLAPS AND LANDED THE AIRPLANE. AS SOON AS WE LANDED, I RADIOED TO CONCORD TWR THAT WE WERE ON THE GND AND THAT NO ONE WAS INJURED. I DO NOT RECALL AT WHAT POINT THE ENG STOPPED RUNNING ALTOGETHER AND THE PROP STOPPED WINDMILLING. I SHUT OFF THE IGNITION AFTER LNDG, BUT I THINK THE PROP HAD ALREADY STOPPED BEFORE THAT. AS FAR AS I COULD TELL THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE ACFT (A 3 INCH PLASTIC PIECE OF THE NOSEWHEEL FAIRING CRACKED OFF), AND THERE APPEARED TO BE NO PROPERTY DAMAGE. AGAIN, THE EVENTS I DESCRIBED ARE AS BEST AS I CAN RECALL. ALL ALTS ARE ESTIMATED AFTER THE POINT THAT THE ENG INITIALLY DIED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.