Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rio Vista, California 94571
Saturday, January 22, 2000 14:30 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot made a forced landing in a plowed field following a loss of engine power. The airplane was a 3/4 scale P-51 replica with a fuel injected automotive engine. The flight departed Stockton with full fuel onboard, which was 32 gallons of fuel in two 16-gallon tanks, and the engine burned about 14 gallons per hour. While cruising at 3,500 feet, the airplane gradually began to lose speed and altitude. The manifold pressure remained at a cruise setting, but the pilot felt the engine was not producing power. He switched fuel tanks from left to right, cycled the ignition switch, and adjusted the mixture. The engine coolant and oil temperature gauges remained in the green, but the power continued to decline. The pilot attempted to land in a plowed field with the landing gear down, but the landing gear separated from the airplane and damaged the wing spar. The pilot reported that in order to assist in the recovery, he drained all of the fuel out of the left fuel tank, and all but 5 gallons from the right tank the day after the accident. The recovery agent drained 5 gallons of fuel from the right fuel tank and no fuel from the left tank. The fuel selector valve had been disconnected so he could not tell what position it was in. The fuel screen was clean and clear of debris; the fuel manifold distribution valve was clean and contained no fuel. The spark plugs were in good condition. After several attempts, investigators started the engine and ran it up to 3,000 rpm. They were not able to run it long because the water pump belt was broken and they couldn't get coolant to flow. A shop owner in Stockton said the airplane came in for an airshow in October, but had engine trouble. He rented the pilot shop space to work on the engine. He said the engine had a broken valve and the pilot repaired the engine himself. He said he advised the pilot to fly around the airport for an hour, but the pilot said he had run the engine on the ground for an hour and experienced no problems. The shop owner said he observed the takeoff and thought that the engine ran so rough that it could not become airborne. A company in Stockton refueled this airplane and the pilot's T-6 during the airshow with a combined total of 90 gallons and had no records of refueling it since that time.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power during cruise flight for unknown reasons resulting in a forced landing in a plowed field.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/22/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City RIO VISTA
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 94571
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 1
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 Off Airport/Airstrip
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 1455 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SUU
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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) 11997
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 22 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1510
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 15 2002 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N751JR
NTSB Number LAX00LA082
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name MINCE
Aircraft Model JURKA MJ77
Aircraft Series Identifier JURKA MJ77
Aircraft Serial Number 34 P-51B-01JRM
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 102
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENT G. CALOMAGNO
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City SAN RAFAEL
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94903
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 SCK
Departure City STOCKTON
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code O69
Destination City PETALUMA
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 9 2002 6:00PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --