Turlock Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Turlock, California 95303
Saturday, October 28, 2006 16:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power and collided with the ground during the pilot's attemp to return to the departure runway. After reaching about 500 feet above ground level (agl) in the takeoff initial climb, the pilot noted a loss of engine revolutions per minute (rpm) and a decrease in airspeed. He maneuvered the airplane in a 180-degree turn in an attempt to return to the runway. The airplane stalled and the pilot attempted to recover. The airplane entered an accelerated stall again and descended rapidly. Upon impact, the airplane touched down hard, subsequently nosing over and coming to rest inverted. The pilot performed a post-accident examination of the engine and discovered that both spark plugs in the no. 4 cylinder were oil fouled. Additional investigation found that two of the rings on the number four piston were broken, allowing oil to move past the piston into the combustion chamber.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a partial loss of engine power due to the broken piston rings in the no. 4 cylinder. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering for a forced landing, which resulted in a stall/mush.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/28/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Turlock
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95303
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372914N
Event Location Longitude 1204148W
Event Location Airport Turlock Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O15
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 159
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID MOD
Elevation of weather observation facility 97
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 7
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
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 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21487
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 28 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-FAT-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1198N
NTSB Number LAX07LA022
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 Fish
Aircraft Model Vans RV-6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20540
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 300
Airframe Hours 1700
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dwain E. Fish
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Atwater
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95301
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code O15
Departure City Turlock
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code O15
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 23 2007 4:40PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 2985
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --