Narrative:

The flight was operated VFR; and under ATC flight following for its entirety. I had just climbed from 4;500 MSL to 6;500 MSL and established cruise. When I initiated the process to lean the mixture for the new cruise altitude there was a noticeable decrease in engine power; which was abnormal. I went back to full throttle and full rich mixture and there was no improvement. At this point; I knew there was some sort of malfunction happening; and I changed course to the nearest airport; approximately 14 miles away. I told [ATC] of my diversion and partial power loss. I established best glide while I switched the electric fuel pump on; changed fuel tanks; and tried switching off and on ignitions. I again began to make adjustments to the throttle and mixture control attempting to find a setting that would restore the power. While doing that the engine power was decreasing and I decided not to make any more adjustments. Shortly thereafter; the engine quit completely. I notified approach that it had just become a total engine failure and I was going to attempt to make it to [my alternate]. Approximately 8 miles east [of my alternate] I got the airport in sight. I started assessing the area between my position and the airport for suitable landing sites. I noted that in the last 4 miles to the airport there was [unsuitable] terrain due to dense trees. As I was gliding; assessing my distance and sink rate; it became clear that I was not going to be able to make the airport.at this time; there was a road off to my right and was the only paved surface and looked to be my best option. I entered a 'right downwind' for the road. As I was abeam my intended touchdown point; I noted 2 white trucks/suvs driving eastbound down the highway and decided to extend my downwind so as to not involve the vehicle traffic. I then made a base to final turn; descended below power lines crossing the road; and touched down eastbound. When I touched down; there was no vehicle traffic; and I was able to steer clear of all property to include street signs and mailboxes. I came to a stop; secured the airplane; and got out to look for any fire; fluids; or smoke. None of those were present. I then pushed the airplane off the road into a driveway. There was a high wing aircraft flying overhead; and I presumed they were looking for me. I attempted to make radio contact and was unsuccessful. So I tuned in guard frequency (121.5) and transmitted for anyone who could relay a message to ATC. [An air carrier] answered me; and they were able to relay to center that I was uninjured and there was no damage.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Rutan LongEZ pilot reported landing on a road after the engine failed in flight.

Narrative: The flight was operated VFR; and under ATC flight following for its entirety. I had just climbed from 4;500 MSL to 6;500 MSL and established cruise. When I initiated the process to lean the mixture for the new cruise altitude there was a noticeable decrease in engine power; which was abnormal. I went back to full throttle and full rich mixture and there was no improvement. At this point; I knew there was some sort of malfunction happening; and I changed course to the nearest airport; approximately 14 miles away. I told [ATC] of my diversion and partial power loss. I established best glide while I switched the electric fuel pump on; changed fuel tanks; and tried switching off and on ignitions. I again began to make adjustments to the throttle and mixture control attempting to find a setting that would restore the power. While doing that the engine power was decreasing and I decided not to make any more adjustments. Shortly thereafter; the engine quit completely. I notified Approach that it had just become a total engine failure and I was going to attempt to make it to [my alternate]. Approximately 8 miles east [of my alternate] I got the airport in sight. I started assessing the area between my position and the airport for suitable landing sites. I noted that in the last 4 miles to the airport there was [unsuitable] terrain due to dense trees. As I was gliding; assessing my distance and sink rate; it became clear that I was not going to be able to make the airport.At this time; there was a road off to my right and was the only paved surface and looked to be my best option. I entered a 'right downwind' for the road. As I was abeam my intended touchdown point; I noted 2 white trucks/SUVs driving eastbound down the highway and decided to extend my downwind so as to not involve the vehicle traffic. I then made a base to final turn; descended below power lines crossing the road; and touched down eastbound. When I touched down; there was no vehicle traffic; and I was able to steer clear of all property to include street signs and mailboxes. I came to a stop; secured the airplane; and got out to look for any fire; fluids; or smoke. None of those were present. I then pushed the airplane off the road into a driveway. There was a high wing aircraft flying overhead; and I presumed they were looking for me. I attempted to make radio contact and was unsuccessful. So I tuned in guard frequency (121.5) and transmitted for anyone who could relay a message to ATC. [An air carrier] answered me; and they were able to relay to Center that I was uninjured and there was no damage.

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.