Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Metz Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Greenfield, California 93927
Monday, April 7, 2003 15:50 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with power lines during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that as he was returning to the airport, the engine lost power. He applied carburetor heat, and the engine power increased for about 30 seconds, then lost power again. This series of power loss/restoration happened three times. The engine did not cough, sputter, or make any metallic sounds. During the ensuing forced landing, the airplane collided with power lines. The airplane came to rest vertically along side of agricultural shipping containers. An NTSB investigator examined the airplane, and selected the right main tank on the fuel selector valve. Recovery personnel plumbed a remote fuel tank into the right main tank fuel line. They bled the fuel system, and drained fuel into a clear glass bottle. The investigator observed no solid contaminants or water in the drained fuel. He detected no loose fuel lines, and observed no fuel stains or leaks. He blew into the vent line from the header tank, and uncontaminated fuel exited through the other end of the tube. The wreckage was secured to a trailer, and the engine was started. The rpm was increased to 1,800. A magneto check was performed, and the investigator observed a smooth 50-rpm drop on each magneto. The engine idled at 550 rpm.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/7/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1550 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Greenfield |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93927 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 362000N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1211300W |
| Event Location Airport | Metz |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3CA7 |
| 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 | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 150 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1753 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SNS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 84 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 27 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.14 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 450 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16924 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 7 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1620 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 28 2004 12:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SJC-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4365K |
| NTSB Number | LAX03LA132 |
| 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 | Deer/Reffalt |
| Aircraft Model | BD |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | BD-001 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 1 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 70 |
| Airframe Hours | 628 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Vaquero Aero |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | King City |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93930 |
| 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 | 3CA7 |
| Departure City | Greenfield |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1450 |
| 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 | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 28 2004 2:00PM |
| User who most recently changed record | LABJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 32 |
| Runway Length | 3500 |
| Runway Width | 80 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |