NTSB Factual Report

On May 9, 2017, about 1525 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N714DW, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Homerville, Georgia. The private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The personal flight departed Lake City Gateway Airport (LCQ), Lake City, Florida, about 1440, destined for Heart of Georgia Regional Airport (EZM), Eastman Georgia.

According to the pilot, on the day of the accident, he departed Lakeland Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida, around 1145. About 2 hours later, he landed at LCQ to refuel, and take a short break.

He departed from LCQ for EZM , climbed to 3,000 ft above mean sea level, and asked for and received flight following from the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). About 45 minutes later, he heard an unusual sound come from the engine. Immediately, he checked the engine rpm indicator, and it started to decrease to 1,500 rpm. He initially thought that carburetor icing might be the reason, so he turned the carburetor heat on, but nothing changed. He then checked that the fuel shutoff valve was on, and confirmed that the engine primer was in and locked. Light smoke then started to emanate from the engine, and began to enter the cockpit. At the same time, a small piece of debris struck the windshield.

The pilot then declared an emergency with Jacksonville ARTCC, and was provided the nearest airport. The pilot advised that he had to land as soon as possible otherwise a fire might occur. He started to perform the emergency landing procedures, obtained the airplane's best glide airspeed, and began looking for a suitable landing area.

He identified and selected a long and smooth field for an off-airport landing. Before landing in the field, he turned off the master switch. The main landing gear touched down first, and he pulled back on the control wheel to keep weight off the nose landing gear. After 4 or 5 seconds, the nose landing gear touched down. However, the surface of the field was soft and rough, and after the nose landing gear touched down, the airplane nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The airplane was subsequently secured for examination at a later date.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on January 17, 2017. He reported that he had accrued 197.6 total hours of flight experience.

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1976. Its most recent annual inspection was completed on May 3, 2017. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued approximately 7,309.6 total hours of operation, and the engine had accrued about 2,217.2 total hours since major overhaul.