A fuel mixture problem lead to the emergency landing made by a small plane south of Gainesville in early July, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The forced landing occurred July 7 about five miles south of Gainesville's Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport as the pilot, identified in the report as Sol F. Williams, prepared to land there. Williams had left Hilliard Airpark in Hilliard, Florida, about 1:30 p.m. enroute to Gainesville. The plane went down shortly before 4:00 near Sugar Hill Elementary School.
"The pilot stated that about 1545 (3:45), or when the flight was about 10 miles from GVL (Gainesville), he made a radio call to the airport and gave his location and intentions," the report says. "He then started the checklist, and when he moved the mixture control, the handle felt like it was caught on something. He pushed harder on the mixture control to move to rich, and then began troubleshooting by moving the mixture control to the point where it had 'hung up' to see if it would occur again."
At that point, Williams reported he heard a "pop" followed by a decrease in the engine's rpm, and the engine began "to idle."
Williams continued to troubleshoot the problem but eventually "made a mayday call reporting his location, and...began looking for a place to land, eventually landing in a field (off Athens Highway)."
He was not injured.
The report quotes Williams as saying when he inspected the engine compartment the following day, "he found the mixture control cable separated from the mixture control lever at the carburetor."
(Click here to read the full preliminary report.)
There was no indication when the final report might be ready.
