Brown Field Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Diego, California 92154
Saturday, August 20, 2005 10:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses observed the airplane on a normal final approach and then it made a sudden right turn and impacted tractor trailers in a storage yard about 0.4 miles from the runway. The witnesses did not hear any unusual noises emanating from the engine. No evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction was observed with the airframe systems. During the disassembly of the carburetor, investigators noted that the accelerator pump seal was worn and separated from the retainer spring, which may have prevented the engine from responding to the pilot's throttle input.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a divergence from the final approach course and an in-flight collision with storage containers for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/20/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1015
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City San Diego
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92154
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 323407N
Event Location Longitude 1165722W
Event Location Airport BROWN FIELD MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SDM
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.4
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 526
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID SDM
Elevation of weather observation facility 526
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) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20979
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 26 2007 11:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Federal Aviation Administration San Diego FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N862DP
NTSB Number LAX05LA272
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 Patch Dan F
Aircraft Model Varieze
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 862
Certified Max Gross Weight 1110
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1950.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dan F. Patch
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Diego
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92109
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 MYF
Departure City SAN DIEGO
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SDM
Destination City SAN DIEGO
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2006 2:30PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26L
Runway Length 3180
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --