The pilot reported that he was maneuvering the Mooney M20J about 1,000 feet above ground level when the engine experienced a loss of power. He initiated a forced landing to a road near Lund, Nevada, however the engine regained power before the airplane landed. As the plane began to climb out, it hit power lines.
The pilot chose to continue the flight and landed at an airport 150 miles south of the accident site where it was discovered that the airplane sustained substantial damage due to the power line strike.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to monitor the environment, which led to a collision with power lines during climbout.
Contributing to the accident was the loss of engine power during low-altitude flight for reasons that could not be determined, which led to a forced landing that the pilot subsequently aborted when the engine regained full power.
NTSB Identification: WPR13LA407
This August 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Maybe so, but I was always told to take what you get. Fly the plane. A stumbling engine should be a cause to make the decision to land anyway. You can always apologize to the authorities for what happened, because you’ll still be mobile enough to do so. I have seen practice emergency landings turn into real emergencies.
If you’re going to go down low and “mess around” you’d best keep a sharp eye out for poles which support cables e.g. power lines, which are typically invisible until its too late. I agree that this was likely a buzz job in which the “buzzard” failed to look for and see those poles supporting dangling cables. He was lucky it wasn’t much worse. A relative of mine now in his late 70s has spent most of his adult life as a paraplegic, the result of a collision with power lines after which the airplane crashed. He was a passenger. Neither he nor the pilot saw the cables until it was too late. The pilot fared better.
Sounds like a “Buzz Job” gone bad to me.