Gansner Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Quincy, California 95971
Sunday, September 8, 1996 9:09 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot leaned the engine before takeoff, but as the aircraft reached about 50 feet agl, the engine lost power. He switched tanks, enriched the mixture, pumped the throttle, and attempted to restart the engine. The engine started, but it ran for only a few seconds before quitting again. When his second attempted restart was unsuccessful, he executed a forced landing. During the forced landing, the airplane hit a log and was damaged. The pilot said he could have induced the problem by over leaning the engine. He also said he could have restricted the fuel flow when he inadvertently moved the fuel selector beyond the tank detent. The aircraft was fueled with a mixture of aviation fuel and auto gas, but it did not have an STC for auto gas. The aircraft had not had an annual inspection within the previous 12 months, and the pilot's medical certificate had expired.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's over leaning of the fuel mixture, which resulted in the initial loss of engine power; and continued fuel starvation, resulting from the pilot's inadvertent mispositioning of the fuel selector valve during an attempted restart of the engine.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/8/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 909
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City QUINCY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95971
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GANSNER FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2O1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 60
Airport Elevation 3415
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 855 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 281
Weather Observation Facility ID RBL
Elevation of weather observation facility 349
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 70
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
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 Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1767
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 8 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1204
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:21AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N97337
NTSB Number LAX96LA329
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 Stinson
Aircraft Model 108
Aircraft Series Identifier 108
Aircraft Serial Number 108337
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 15 1984 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 337
Airframe Hours 2449
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BARRY N. MCPHERSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address FLYING DUTCHMAN TRAILER COURT
Aircraft Owner City FELTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19943
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 2O1
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 909
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 0Q3
Destination City SCHELLVILLESON
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
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 4100
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --