Subject boat owner and operator was operating a 19.6 ft 1996 Nitro bass boat on Bartholomew Lake.  He was headed south when he began having outboard motor problems (motor started missing or sputtering).  The boat was on plane at the time.  Instead of coming to a stop and checking out the motor trouble, he remained on plane, and turned around to look at the motor, at which time, he turned the steering wheel to the left, causing the boat to veer off course and head towards the east bank (primary factor-looked away from direction of travel and turned the wheel-operator inattention).  When he looked forward (2-4 second later) and realized he was about to hit the bank, he made a hard turn to the right (secondary factor-excessive speed) and struck a partially submerged log which again turned the boat into the east bank.  The boat then struck two trees, totaling the hull and ejecting one person into the floor of the boat causing minor injuries.  While fault of machinery (sputtering outboard) was a contributing factor, it was not the primary cause of the accident.
STERLINGTON                   