Narrative:

I was returning to my home airfield after I had just refueled. The day was cold; with a large dew-point spread (>10 degrees). About 5 miles to the west at an altitude of 2;500 ft; I noticed the engine was running rough. I applied carburetor heat and the engine began to run smoother. After a minute or so; I removed the carb heat. While mid-field on the right downwind; the engine began running significantly rougher. I again applied carb heat; the power loss was significant; but the engine did run smoother. While on downwind; the tower called two departures prior to my arrival. I acknowledged the call. The engine continued to lose power. I called the tower and told them I had a rough-running engine and I needed to land immediately. Tower cleared me to land. At this point; even with carb heat; the engine was surging and not developing power. I had enough altitude and speed to land normally. During roll-out the engine quit. I had enough momentum to continue off the runway and onto taxiway foxtrot. I was unable to restart the engine after several attempts while on foxtrot. I called ground and told them I would require assistance. Ground arranged for an FBO to tug the aircraft back to my hangar. No further attempt to restart the engine was made. After reaching the hangar; I checked and found the oil level to be normal. I removed the cowling but found nothing amiss that I could see. I will contact my mechanic to diagnose the problem. While I initially suspected carburetor ice; the issue may be more serious; since the engine did not restart on the ground.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 pilot experiences a rough running engine on downwind and advises ATC. Priority handling is provided by the Tower and a safe landing ensues. During roll out the engine quits and cannot be restarted.

Narrative: I was returning to my home airfield after I had just refueled. The day was cold; with a large dew-point spread (>10 degrees). About 5 miles to the west at an altitude of 2;500 FT; I noticed the engine was running rough. I applied carburetor heat and the engine began to run smoother. After a minute or so; I removed the carb heat. While mid-field on the right downwind; the engine began running significantly rougher. I again applied carb heat; the power loss was significant; but the engine did run smoother. While on downwind; the Tower called two departures prior to my arrival. I acknowledged the call. The engine continued to lose power. I called the Tower and told them I had a rough-running engine and I needed to land immediately. Tower cleared me to land. At this point; even with carb heat; the engine was surging and not developing power. I had enough altitude and speed to land normally. During roll-out the engine quit. I had enough momentum to continue off the runway and onto Taxiway Foxtrot. I was unable to restart the engine after several attempts while on Foxtrot. I called Ground and told them I would require assistance. Ground arranged for an FBO to tug the aircraft back to my hangar. No further attempt to restart the engine was made. After reaching the hangar; I checked and found the oil level to be normal. I removed the cowling but found nothing amiss that I could see. I will contact my Mechanic to diagnose the problem. While I initially suspected carburetor ice; the issue may be more serious; since the engine did not restart on the ground.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.