N6863M

On September 14, 1999, about 1700 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182P, N6863M, collided with trees during an emergency landing following a loss of engine power in Summerville, Georgia. The airplane was operated by the private pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Barwick LaFayette Airport in LaFayette, Georgia, about 1645.

According to the pilot, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane and departed runway 2 at LaFayette. He departed to the west and climbed to 2,500 feet above mean sea level (msl), then began to make throttle adjustments. He stated that the throttle "seemed to get real loose and the throttle movement brought no change" in engine rpm. The engine then began to lose rpm. He located a 2,400 foot grass strip on which to perform a precautionary landing and glided to the field. The airplane touched down at the mid-field point. The airplane departed the end of the grass field into a gathering of small pine trees, sustaining damage to the leading edges of both wings, the wing spar, and the nose and left main landing gear.

Following the accident, an examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the throttle linkage had separated from the throttle arm and there was a missing linkage bolt at the carburetor. A review of the maintenance logbooks revealed that a new engine was installed 1.2 hours prior to the accident.