In 2001, Doug Pohl wrote a detailed account on the Lancair Web site of his crash at Fryeburg on July 21 of that year.

“On July 21st, I complete my forty hours without a hiccup and began my preparations for Oshkosh (the annual experimental aircraft show in Wisconsin). I departed with a friend from Auburn, ME …

“About ten minutes out and about 8000 feet, there was an abrupt loss of engine power. It felt very much like the plane had been grabbed by the tail, moving us forward in our seats.”

Pohl was flying with a Lancair assistant who was helping him check out the plane. After a series of instrument and backup checks, he decided to try to land at Fryeburg, the closest airport.

“Now in contact with Boston Center, I let them know of the loss of engine power and that I was going to make a precautionary landing in Fryeburg. A descent commenced at 120 knots and engine performance further deteriorated during the descent …

“Nearing the airport, it became clear that we were going to come up short – there was a headwind. These are the hardest decisions of your life in that last minute.

“Having never been in the situation before, I made a last minute decision to partially extend the (landing) gear, hoping the gear legs would protect the fuselage and smooth the impact. Contact was made in the field short of the runway, the MT prop began to beat the ground and come apart and in the blink of an eye, we slid 100 yards onto the first 20 feet of the runway and stopped. …”

“As for lessons learned, few of us actively practice emergency procedures, much less spend time seeing how the plane flies with no power or landing ‘dead stick.’ This is not to suggest that we should practice dead stick landings. In a Lancair, that practice in and of itself is risky. However, we should keep in mind that these are experimental planes and that both certified and uncertified engines can malfunction. Without the knowledge to deal with such a situation, a true disaster can ensue.”