Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lake Berryessa, California 94535
Saturday, May 29, 1999 14:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The purpose of the flight was to fly over the lake with the intent of viewing the lake and surrounding area. The lake is 10 miles from the airport. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight the pilot noted a loss of fuel pressure followed by a rough running engine. He believed that the engine driven fuel pump had failed. He engaged the electric boost pump and the fuel pressure came back on-line and engine ran normally. The pilot decided to return to the airport to make a precautionary landing. He again noted that the fuel pressure gage needle began to move sporadically and the engine began to run rough and subsequently lost power. He made an unsuccessful attempt to restart the engine utilizing the in-flight engine failure checklist and subsequently ditched the airplane in the lake. No discrepancies were noted with the flight prior to the loss of engine power. The fuel system was inspected with no foreign debris found. A functional check was performed on the electric boost pump and no fuel flow output was observed; however, during the test the pump shorted out. Both the engine driven fuel pump and electric boost pump were sent out for further tests. Two functional checks were conducted on the engine driven fuel pump. An adjusting nut on the engine driven fuel pump allows for an increase or decrease in fuel flow. The first test was completed in the as-received condition with the adjusting nut loose. The results were consistently low, but fuel flow output was observed from the pump. The adjusting nut was then readjusted to overhaul specifications for the second functional check. The check revealed that the fuel flow was within overhaul specifications. During the teardown of the electric boost pump, it was noted that the bearings were loose allowing the pump vanes to rub up against the throat of the pump, decreasing fuel flowing through the fuel system.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Loss of engine power due to a loose adjustment nut on the engine driven fuel pump that allowed for a decrease in fuel flow and fuel pressure, and the subsequent failure of the electric fuel boost pump due to loose bearings decreasing fuel flow and fuel pressure to sustain engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/29/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | LAKE BERRYESSA |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 94535 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Unknown |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1354 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 240 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | APC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 33 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 17 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1815 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 29 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1424 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 9 2001 8:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N20869 |
| NTSB Number | LAX99LA202 |
| 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 | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | D-45 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | D-45 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | BG-100 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3050 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 14 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 68 |
| Airframe Hours | 9169 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | US AIR FORCE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 20200 REUNION PL SUITE 402 |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAN ANTONIO |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78216 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | TRAVIS AFB AERO CLUB |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 1477 |
| Operator City | TRAVIS AFB |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 94535 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 8Q0 |
| Departure City | TRAVIS AFB |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1330 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| 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 | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 9 2001 8:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |