Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tracy Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tracy, California 95376
Monday, June 29, 1998 20:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The experimental airplane was on climbout following a touch-and-go landing. During the climb, the engine began sputtering and lost power. The airplane leveled off momentarily and then began a steep left turn back toward the runway. During the turn, the airplane descended and collided with a power line. The engine had lost power in flight on several prior occasions. The airplane was not equipped with a fuel boost pump or an engine-driven fuel pump. The fuel tank was mounted in the fuselage, immediately forward of the instrument panel with no accumulator tank. The headspace between the fuel tank and the carburetor was reduced whenever the airplane's pitch attitude increased. A minimum of 0.5 pounds of fuel pressure at the carburetor inlet is required for operation of the engine. The minimum flow volume required for engine operation is not specified. The tank had a single, under wing vent line. Dirt and a piece of plastic were found lodged in the 90-degree elbow of the fuel tank vent line at the point where the line enters the tank. The dirt had formed a ball and was located on the tank side of the piece of plastic. The fuel tank was also equipped with a vented fuel cap that was found in place; however, the vent hole in the cap had been covered with gray silicon sealant.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
inadequate maintenance/inspection by the owner/pilot that resulted in an obstructed fuel vent system and a subsequent loss of engine power during takeoff.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/29/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 2000 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | TRACY |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95376 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | TRACY MUNICIPAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TCY |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 70 |
| Airport Elevation | 193 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1956 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 23 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SCK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 30 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 16 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| 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) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| 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 | 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) | 1808 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 29 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2027 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2000 11:32AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N76JF |
| NTSB Number | LAX98FA208 |
| 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 | Frandsen |
| Aircraft Model | MIDGET MUSTANG MM-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | MIDGET MUS |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 786 |
| 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 | Jul 21 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 11 |
| Airframe Hours | 253 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DAVID LEE CRUSE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5349 SOUTH TRACY BOULEVARD |
| Aircraft Owner City | TRACY |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95376 |
| 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 | TCY |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| 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 | 7 |
| Runway Length | 3438 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |