Cheetah; Tiger; Traveler AA5 Series
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10; Flight Crew Total 684; Flight Crew Type 390
Distraction; Training / Qualification; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; General Maintenance Action; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft; Human Factors; Procedure
I made a May Day call on 121.5. Reported total power failure and that I was making an emergency power off landing on a road. I was instructed to Squawk 7700. After safely landing on the road; FAA personnel had dispatched the Highway Patrol and County Sheriff Department. There were no injuries and no damage. Three aircraft mechanics were called and diagnosed the mechanical problems and repair parts were driven in to the location and the airplane was repaired and signed off for return to service. Permission was given through Highway Patrol to close the road for takeoff; however the crosswind prohibited takeoff from the road. With the assistance of the Highway Patrol and County Sheriff the airplane was taxied to a local private dirt field that allowed takeoff into the wind. After the day long events I had forgotten to reset the transponder to 1200 prior to takeoff. I did not notice I had not reset the transponder for the first part of flight. During a scan of the panel I noticed my error and immediately changed the transponder to 1200. Corrective Action: Check that the transponder is reset to 1200 as soon as the airplane is safely on the ground following an emergency. Further Corrective action: Verify the proper Transponder code prior to takeoff.
An AG5B lost power inflight and the pilot made a successful off airport landing on a country road where repairs were made. The aircraft later departed with 7700 still in the transponder.