February 08, Mena, Ark. / Beech Sundowner

Approximately 1412 central time, a Beech BE-23 lost engine power and was damaged in the forced landing that followed. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he made a left downwind departure from runway 17 at Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport and climbed to 2,000 feet agl when the engine stopped producing power. The pilot attempted to re-start the engine, but was unsuccessful. He turned left and aligned the airplane with the runway while descending. The pilot flew along the length of the runway, but never landed. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, he aligned the airplane with a taxiway, but decided to turn and land in an open clearing, where it struck trees and power lines. The airplane had just been recently purchased, was out of annual inspection, and was being ferried to Houston, where it was scheduled to undergo an annual inspection. The FAA issued the ferry permit based on the belief that the airplane had undergone an annual inspection just over a year ago. Further examination revealed that the airplane had not received an annual inspection since 1988.