Gillespie Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

El Cajon, California 92020
Saturday, May 11, 2002 12:42 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After flying for about an hour, the engine lost power and the airplane collided with obstacles and the ground on a freeway during an attempted forced landing. The recently overhauled engine had just been installed the morning of the accident in the airframe and this was the first flight following this maintenance activity. The mechanic who installed the engine said after he completed the reinstallation he performed a 20-minute ground run of the engine. A fuel leak was noted in a fitting in the line to the carburetor and that was tightened. There were no other discrepancies noted in the engine indications. The pilot arrived at the airport after the mechanic had performed the ground run of the engine. He said the mechanic told him that the airplane was ready for a test flight and that he should take it up for about an hour to break-in the engine, changing the rpm setting every 5 minutes. The pilot said he did a preflight inspection, which included the determination that he had 6 gallons in each of the wing tanks and 6 gallons in the header tank, for a total of about 18 gallons. After the preflight, he started the engine and taxied down to the runway where he did his normal run-up process, which included two separate magneto checks. After takeoff he flew out about 3 miles and orbited while varying the rpm every 5 minutes. During the entire flight from engine start, the power plant performed perfectly with no abnormal engine indications. At the end of 1 hour, he reported to the control tower that he was ready to land and turned inbound toward the runway. On final approach, the engine just quit without any precipitating roughness or engine spool down. He said it was "like someone just turned off the key." He did not have enough altitude to make the runway and the airplane hit a fence and landed inverted on the highway. Post accident examination of the engine and related systems found numerous discrepancies and abnormal conditions related to the engine overhaul and its reinstallation in the airframe. While many of these discrepancies would have eventually induced a catistrophic engine failure, they were not contributory to the loss of engine power. Three specific conditions were likely related to the engine power loss. The engine driven fuel pump's outlet fitting was found loose and was easily moved, and the nuts attaching the fuel pump to the crankcase were found to be only finger tight. The nuts securing the P-leads for both magnetos were loose, with the nuts 2-turns from finger tight. The scuffing on the pistons indicates that the overhaul shop did not pre-oil the pistons, rings, and cylinders when the engine was put back together; this dry condition allowed a large quantity of oil to migrate past the rings, fouling the plugs with carbon deposits. The fuel system in the aircraft consists of a 6-gallon tank in each wing and a 6-gallon header tank, which is mounted in front of the cockpit. Fuel is supplied to the engine's carburetor via gravity fed line only from the header tank. The engine driven fuel pump moves fuel from the wing tanks to the header tank to replenish that supply as the engine uses it. According to the Teledyne Continental operating manual for the "C" series engines, the typical cruise fuel consumption rate of the C75 engine is between 5 and 6 gallons per hour. At the conclusion of the impact sequence, the aircraft came to rest inverted, with all three fuel tanks breched. A fuel spill was noted under the fuel tank locations in both wings, and based on the size of the fuel stain, investigators estimated at least 10 gallons had leaked. The loose fitting on the fuel pump likely allowed it to suck air and resulted in inefficeincey to the extent that the header tank was depleted of fuel, which in turn resulted in a fuel starvation event. The mechanic was going to leave town immediately after completing this job for a planned multi week vacation trip.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fuel starvation due to the mechanic's failure to properly tighten a fuel line fitting on the engine driven fuel pump, which led to a depletion of the fuel in the header tank. The mechanic's self induced pressure to complete the job prior to leaving on vacation was a factor in the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/11/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1242
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City El Cajon
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92020
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324800N
Event Location Longitude 1165700W
Event Location Airport Gillespie Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SEE
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 90
Airport Elevation 387
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1242 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KSEE
Elevation of weather observation facility 387
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15539
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date May 11 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1250
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO-San Diego, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2948H
NTSB Number LAX02FA157
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.)
Aircraft Model 415C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3573
Certified Max Gross Weight 1260
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 11 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 1942
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Fred L. Province
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Spring Valley
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91977
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KSEE
Departure City El Cajon
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1140
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 Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 16 2004 5:55PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27R
Runway Length 5341
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --