Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 9; Flight Crew Total 140; Flight Crew Type 20
Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Aircraft
Preflight went fine; I added a quart of oil to bring it up to 6 qts. and topped off the tanks. When starting the engine it was a bit slow to start; as in the starter almost seemed to be sluggish; but no different than it had been in the past. It started fine and had proper oil pressure; no problem there. The run up went smoothly; no adverse indications there. Power check on roll out seemed fine. The plane was a little sluggish getting off the runway; but I didn't think much of it because I had my wife; our 70 lb dog; and full tanks on board so I wasn't expecting it to jump off the runway like it does when it is just myself with fuel at the tabs. We climbed up to 7;500 ft. where we settled into cruise. I powered back and leaned for cruise flight. After about 30 or 40 minutes I started to notice the RPMs starting to drop. Being my first long distance flight in Aircraft X; my attention as glued to the engine instruments and I think I picked up the drop almost immediately. I then gave it full rich mixture then full throttle. Still losing RPM. As I dropped through 2;300 RPM will full throttle; I figured we were in trouble. I had gotten in the habit of keeping the [GPS] at the nearest airport screen so I could see immediately which one was the closest. ZZZ at about 10 miles off our left wingtip. At that point I made my left hand turn and figured we be doing a partial power landing. I looked up at my Foreflight and could tell we had plenty glide distance to get to ZZZ given the glide distance ring. At that point I was double checking fuel; magnetos; carb heat and nothing was restoring full power. After about 30 seconds since our deviation the engine quit. We were doing about 100 kts. and the prop came to a stop; I knew was a bad sign because it should be windmilling. I pitched and trimmed for best glide; pulled up the ZZZ CTAF and announced an engine off approach about 7 miles out. At this point I went through the restart procedures again. Switched fuel tanks this time. Problem was; the starter wouldn't turn the prop. Only a fraction of a full turn at a time. So fuel and mags can't help with a stuck prop. No luck and my full attention went back to judging my approach. I ended up entering midfield downwind right traffic for Runway XX at about 1;500 ft. I left zero flaps all the way through base and final. Only when I was on short final and I could tell I was making the runway did I deploy full flaps; while at the same time putting the aircraft in a slip to slow it down as fast as possible. I touched down and taxied off the runway until it rolled to a stop. Cause is still unclear and I'm still not sure what can be done to prevent a recurrence.
PA-28 pilot reported an engine failure in cruise that resulted in a successful forced landing at a nearby airport.