Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Turlock Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Turlock, California 95303
Monday, September 4, 1995 13:13 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Maintenance had just been completed to both prepare the aircraft for the upcoming Reno Air Races and complete an annual inspection. During the process new wings of a different design were installed. On the morning of the accident a ground static run-up of the engine yielded poor performance due to fuel flow problems. Water was found in the carburetor float bowl. About 1 quart of fluid was drained from the fuel system to clear the contamination and a second check found no contamination. The engine was again subjected to a ground static run-up and found satisfactory. Prior to the final takeoff, the pilot performed two high-speed full power taxi tests. The pilot then initiated a takeoff and flew down to the runway departure end before a climb was started. About 100 feet agl in the takeoff initial climb, the engine quit, then went back to full power. The pilot then began a steep climb to gain pattern altitude and the engine began surging as the aircraft reached 700 feet agl. The engine problem continued throughout the rest of the aircraft's flight. The pilot was able to fly a downwind and base leg. After turning final, the pilot performed two slip maneuvers and an S-turn to lose altitude. During the turn, the bank angle reached 60 degrees, then suddenly increased to 90 degrees. The aircraft then stalled, snapped over inside onto it's back and spun to the ground. The carburetor and fuselage-mounted fuel tank were destroyed in the collision sequence. Control system integrity was established. No other discrepancies were noted during the examination of the wreckage.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
a loss of engine power due to fuel system contamination and the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering for an emergency landing. Factors in the accident were: the inadequate procedures used to purge the fuel system of known contaminants during post maintenance testing, and the installation of newly designed wings which may have had aerodynamic qualities unfamiliar to the pilot.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/4/1995 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1313 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | TURLOCK |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95303 |
| Event Date Year | 1995 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | TURLOCK MUNICIPAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | O15 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 159 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1250 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MCE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 153 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 35 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1932 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 4 1995 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1330 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2000 4:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N177GE |
| NTSB Number | LAX95LA325 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CHAMBERS |
| Aircraft Model | C1C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | C1C |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 900 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 4 1995 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 227 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ONE MORE TIME AIR RACE TEAM IN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2501 HARDY ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | GRAND PRAIRIE |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75051 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | O15 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1312 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 2985 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |