Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Franklin Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Galt, California 95362
Tuesady, February 25, 1997 16:25 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was manufactured in Austria, and had a United States normal airworthiness certificate. The pilot said the aircraft was in the takeoff initial climb when he smelled the strong odor of fuel. The fuel pressure decreased, and the engine quit. The pilot attempted to land in a field, but noticed a large number of cattle in the way. He then landed the aircraft early in soft soil, where the nose gear collapsed. An examination revealed that a fuel line quick disconnect fitting had come loose in the line between the fuel selector and the fuel pump. The fitting allowed access to a fuel filter, which required inspection during each 100-hour/annual inspection. According to the aircraft maintenance records, the line was last removed and reinstalled about 20 hours before the accident. An examining FAA inspector reported that the quick disconnect fitting was safety-wired in accordance with the maintenance instructions. The inspector further stated that even with the safety wire in place 'I was able to insert, lock, unlock and remove the coupler from the pump.' No fuel stains were noted in the area of the fuel pump.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
a disconnect of a fuel line fitting, due to the manufacturer's inadequate design and/or lack of adequate installation procedure for replacement of the fuel filter; which resulted in fuel starvation, loss of engine power, and a forced landing. Soft terrain in the emergency landing area was a related factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/25/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1625 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | GALT |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95362 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | FRANKLIN FIELD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | Q53 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 350 |
| Airport Elevation | 12 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1547 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 325 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SAC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 21 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 15000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 40 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| 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) | 30 |
| 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) | 221 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 26 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1615 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:08PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N194DV |
| NTSB Number | LAX97LA114 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | HOAC Austria |
| Aircraft Model | DV-20 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | DV-20 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 20094 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1069 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 21 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 19 |
| Airframe Hours | 916 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MDFC EQUIP LEASING CORP |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4060 LAKEWOOD BLVD. |
| Aircraft Owner City | LONG BEACH |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90808 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | PATTERSON AVIATION |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | EXECUTIVE AIRPORT, BOX 22670 |
| Operator City | SACRAMENTO |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 95822 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAC |
| Departure City | SACRAMENTO |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1600 |
| 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 | 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 | 36 |
| Runway Length | 3240 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |