Yucca Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Yucca Valley, California 92286
Saturday, July 27, 1996 17:28 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the aircraft was about 300 feet agl in the takeoff initial climb when the engine suddenly quit, restarted momentarily, then quit altogether. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but had insufficient altitude and he landed in soft desert terrain. The aircraft nosed over during the landing roll. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the aircraft. He reported that the left fuel tank was selected, and that tank contained about 3 gallons of fuel. The right tank contained 5 gallons. No mechanical discrepancies were identified with the engine during the examination. The pilot is an airframe and powerplant mechanic and reported that his aircraft is equipped with both engine driven and electric fuel pumps which are plumbed in series. He stated that following recovery of the aircraft he performed functional tests on the fuel system. With the electric fuel pump turned on very little fuel would flow from the pump outlet line. When the electric pump was removed from the lines, the flow rate to the gascolator was measured at 12 gallons per hour.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel starvation due to the internal failure of the electric fuel pump and the subsequent fuel flow blockage to the gascolator.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/27/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1728
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City YUCCA VALLEY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92286
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport YUCCA VALLEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L22
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 3224
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
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) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 37
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 813
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 28 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N42DJ
NTSB Number LAX96LA293
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name THOMPSON
Aircraft Model LONG EZ TR
Aircraft Series Identifier LONG EZ TR
Aircraft Serial Number 1805L
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 30 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 29
Airframe Hours 637
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DANIEL J. THOMPSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 31170 AVENIDA JUAREZ
Aircraft Owner City CATHEDRAL CITY
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92234
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code L22
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1727
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PSP
Destination City PALM SPRINGS
Destination State CA
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 24
Runway Length 4363
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --