NTSB Factual Report

The right wing of the airplane struck a parked truck during landing. The pilot reported that he became distracted during the pre-flight inspection of the airplane and forgot to remove the cowl covers from the engine cowl. He stated that he and his pilot rated passenger took off for a short flight to get gas and oil. During the flight, the pilot noticed that the oil temperature indication was "going up." The destination airport had a paved runway that was 3,404 feet long. On the south side of the paved runway was a parallel turf runway that was 2,593 feet long by 85 feet wide. On the day of the accident flight, runway maintenance was being performed on the paved runway and the turf runway was in use. The pilot reported that his passenger contacted the destination airport by radio and that they were informed of the runway maintenance. The pilot stated that the passenger took control of the airplane on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. The pilot rated passenger reported that he only took control of the airplane after the pilot asked for help. Both pilots reported that the approach was high and that they touched down a few times before the pilot rated passenger attempted a go-around. The engine did not respond and the airplane hit a truck that was parked at the far end of the paved runway.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of engine power due to the blocked cooling and induction systems because of the pilot in command's failure to remove the cowling covers before the flight. Factors were the pilot's misjudged landing glidepath, the pilot rated passenger's inability to maintain clearance from the parked vehicle during the landing, and the parked vehicle.