N5863R

On August 17, 2005 at 1920 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172G, N5863R, registered to and operated by a private owner, collided with tree stump during a forced landing on a pine tree field in Ridgeland, South Carolina. The personal flight operated under provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot received minor injuries. The flight originated from Ridgeland Airport, Ridgeland, South Carolina on August 17, 2004 at 1900.

As the airplane climbed to 1500 feet over the newly planted pine trees, the engine started to run rough at 2200 RPM. The pilot stated that while he was looking for a suitable landing field, the engine lost power. The pilot's attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot made an emergency landing in a marshy field. After touchdown, the airplane rolled out approximately 10 yards and collided with a tree stump partially submerged in the swampy terrain.

Examination of the airplane revealed the left main landing gear and the nose gear detached. There was also crush damage to the left side of the fuselage, the propeller was bent and the right wing tip was dented.

An engine run was performed on September 7, 2005 at Atlanta Air Recovery, Griffin, Georgia. The carburetor was replaced with a new one because the original was damaged. The engine was run at 2000 RPM for two minutes during the functional test.

The pilot reported that the flight departed with 15 gallons of low-lead fuel. During the airplane recovery several gallons of fuel were recovered from the fuel system. At the time of the loss of engine power, the pilot positioned the fuel selector from the "both" to the "off" position.

The post-accident examination of the airframe and subsystems failed to disclose any mechanical problems or component failures.