Gillespie Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

El Cajon, California 92020
Thursday, April 3, 2003 18:22 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with ground obstacles during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. Prior to flying the experimental airplane, the pilot had done some work on the airplane's Chevrolet, 4.3L, V6 engine. The pilot was performing a test flight at pattern altitude over the airfield when the engine began to "run rough and quit." During the forced landing approach to the runway, the pilot executed an approach that put him on a low final for landing. The airplane landed short of the runway, struck a fence post, and came to rest in the threshold area of the approach end of runway. The cause of engine failure was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/3/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1822
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City El Cajon
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92020
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324934N
Event Location Longitude 1165821W
Event Location Airport Gillespie Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SEE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
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 1850 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KSEE
Elevation of weather observation facility 387
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16123
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 3 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO- San Diego

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6052T
NTSB Number LAX03LA125
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Vortec
Aircraft Model 99
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 00028
Certified Max Gross Weight 2700
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 55
Airframe Hours 350
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John A. Kiss
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Diego
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92123
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code SEE
Departure City El Cajon
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SEE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 29 2004 6:00PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 4147
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --