Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Long Beach, California 90712
Sunday, February 12, 2006 16:16 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with shipping containers while attempting to make a precautionary landing at a pier due to a pilot perceived low fuel state. The pilot passed away several months after the accident and was never able to provide a statement. A witness, who saw the crash and responded to the site to render aid, asked the pilot what had happened. The pilot told the witness that he was trying to land due to low fuel state. First responders observed large amounts of fuel leaking out of the damaged wing tanks and from the lower forward fuselage where the header tanks and fuel lines are located. Fuel was still leaking from the airplane when Safety Board investigators arrived 2 hours after the accident. The airframe and engine were examined with no mechanical anomalies noted that would have precluded normal operation. Investigators were not able to establish at what time the pilot departed from Compton or when the pilot had last refueled the airplane. Investigators found that the alternator circuit breaker was tripped. An alternator was found in the wreckage of the cabin and examination revealed that it had a shorted internal diode. The alternator attached to the engine was missing the grounding post and the associated ground wire. The ground strap between the engine and the airframe had been disconnected, with the disconnected end weathered and worn. The airplane manufacturer's technical representative indicated that the fuel level for this airplane is sensed from a variable resistance float assembly that can indicate lower fuel levels than actual as the electrical system voltage drops. Due to the poor condition of the alternator, it is highly likely that the battery was discharging and the voltage level dropping. If that were the case, then the variable resistance float assembly for the fuel gage level would have started to show a lower than expected fuel level indication inside the cockpit leading the pilot to believe that the airplane was experiencing a low fuel state situation. Only partial maintenance records were recovered and the recent maintenance that may have been performed, if any, on the electrical system could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
an erroneous low fuel quantity indication that led the pilot to attempt a precautionary landing in a congested and less than ideal location. The erroneous fuel level indication was due to multiple anomalies with the alternator installation that precipitated a low system voltage and adversely affected the accuracy of the fuel indicating system. The alternator anomalies were the result of inadequate maintenance by unknown persons or institutions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/12/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1616 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Long Beach |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 90712 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334352N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1181123W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 200 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LGB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 60 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| 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) | 21551 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 12 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 29 2007 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-LGB-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6895B |
| NTSB Number | LAX06FA113 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 210M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 21062851 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 50 |
| Airframe Hours | 4666.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Antonio M. Smith |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Inglewood |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90303 |
| 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 | CPM |
| Departure City | COMPTON |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | CPM |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 18 2007 2:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |