A 210 hp glastar 2+2 had an engine failure during a test flight and landed short of a grass airstrip...

Narrative:

On returning to airport of departure; engine quit producing power. Prior to power loss; performed basic flight to determine cause of high oil temperature (225 degrees F) in normal cruise configuration at 2;500 RPM; 22 inches manifold pressure. At 2;400-2;450 RPM oil temperature decreased to 209 degrees F. In turns left/right oil temperature increases. Stayed 6-8 NM north of ZZZ eastward in 6-8 NM arc with engine temperature increasing. Started to obtain ATIS information when engine quit approximately 7 NM east-northeast at 3;500-3;200 ft MSL when slowing down and turning toward the west pitched down to maintain airspeed (75-81 mph); fuel pump on; mixture rich; tanks remain on both; transfer pumps on; engine would not start. Oil temperature 220 degrees F; 2425-2450 RPM; sighted dirt runway to south as traveled south and west in turn toward ZZZ. To avoid aircraft traveling south and above approximately 1/2 miles +/- continued turn to right and lost sight of dirt airstrip. After descending at 1;500+ FPM sighted dirt airstrip at 75-81 mph. High descent rate and headwind caused a too low approach to the dirt strip with fencing at the end. Diverted to east and south -- was able to go over first fence and land. On rollout; unable to hurdle over second fence that blended in with dark terrain. Aircraft stopped after going through fence. Departed ZZZ with 27+ gallons aboard with engine total time 23.1 hours. At this time unknown cause of engine power loss. Probable cause of extreme high rate of descent -- larger than normal tire size; no wheel pants; and unpainted aircraft. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter was conducting a test flight on this aircraft when the engine sputtered; quit and would not restart even with the restart procedures correctly accomplished. The reporter typically flies in an area where several small airports are readily available for immediate landings. In this case; the aircraft that he was flying had a history of engine sputters during nose down turning maneuvers but the engine never actually quit. According to the reporter; it appears that a high performance fuel injection system fuel metering adjustment control was the problem in this event. This time he was pulling up and turning away from traffic approaching him when the engine sputtered then quit and would not restart. Reporter stated since he was around 80 mph at the time; in order to increase glide ratio he increased to 90 mph which also increased his rate of descent. The end result was a 20 second glide to his landing about 200 feet short of a dirt airstrip runway threshold. He had to make a short turn on final to avoid a cow which also took some speed resulting in landing short and hitting a fence which is where the aircraft damage occurred. He had three people verify with him that the aircraft had fuel on board when it landed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A 210 HP Glastar 2+2 had an engine failure during a test flight and landed short of a grass airstrip damaging the aircraft's empennage skin near the tail. The fuel injections system was apparently adjusted too richly causing the engine to fail in a nose up attitude.

Narrative: On returning to airport of departure; engine quit producing power. Prior to power loss; performed basic flight to determine cause of high oil temperature (225 degrees F) in normal cruise configuration at 2;500 RPM; 22 inches manifold pressure. At 2;400-2;450 RPM oil temperature decreased to 209 degrees F. In turns left/right oil temperature increases. Stayed 6-8 NM north of ZZZ eastward in 6-8 NM arc with engine temperature increasing. Started to obtain ATIS information when engine quit approximately 7 NM east-northeast at 3;500-3;200 FT MSL when slowing down and turning toward the west Pitched down to maintain airspeed (75-81 MPH); fuel pump on; mixture rich; tanks remain on both; transfer pumps on; engine would not start. Oil temperature 220 degrees F; 2425-2450 RPM; sighted dirt runway to south as traveled south and west in turn toward ZZZ. To avoid aircraft traveling south and above approximately 1/2 miles +/- continued turn to right and lost sight of dirt airstrip. After descending at 1;500+ FPM sighted dirt airstrip at 75-81 MPH. High descent rate and headwind caused a too low approach to the dirt strip with fencing at the end. Diverted to east and south -- was able to go over first fence and land. On rollout; unable to hurdle over second fence that blended in with dark terrain. Aircraft stopped after going through fence. Departed ZZZ with 27+ gallons aboard with engine total time 23.1 hours. At this time unknown cause of engine power loss. Probable cause of extreme high rate of descent -- larger than normal tire size; no wheel pants; and unpainted aircraft. Callback conversation with Reporter revealed the following information: The reporter was conducting a test flight on this aircraft when the engine sputtered; quit and would not restart even with the restart procedures correctly accomplished. The reporter typically flies in an area where several small airports are readily available for immediate landings. In this case; the aircraft that he was flying had a history of engine sputters during nose down turning maneuvers but the engine never actually quit. According to the Reporter; it appears that a high performance fuel injection system fuel metering adjustment control was the problem in this event. This time he was pulling up and turning away from traffic approaching him when the engine sputtered then quit and would not restart. Reporter stated since he was around 80 MPH at the time; in order to increase glide ratio he increased to 90 MPH which also increased his rate of descent. The end result was a 20 second glide to his landing about 200 feet short of a dirt airstrip runway threshold. He had to make a short turn on final to avoid a cow which also took some speed resulting in landing short and hitting a fence which is where the aircraft damage occurred. He had three people verify with him that the aircraft had fuel on board when it landed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	819262
Time
Date	200901
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Experimental
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Component
Aircraft Component	Air/Ground Communication
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 53.7 Flight Crew Total 11776 Flight Crew Type 23.8
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A 210 hp glastar 2+2 had an engine failure during a test flight and landed short of a grass airstrip damaging the aircraft's empennage skin near the tail. The fuel injections system was apparently adjusted too richly causing the engine to fail in a nose up attitude.