Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Zamperini Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lomita, California 90717
Saturday, August 11, 2007 15:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane departed from runway 29R, and the flight was cleared to make a right closed traffic pattern to return for landing on runway 29R. On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power, and during the ensuing forced landing, it impacted homes in a residential area. No distress calls were received from the airplane. During recovery of the airplane, approximately 18 to 20 gallons of fuel was drained from the right wing and only a residual amount of fuel was drained from the left wing. No visual evidence of fuel contamination was noted. The fuel selector valve was positioned to the right tank, and the auxiliary fuel boost pump switch was found in the "HI" position. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any discrepancies that would have prevented normal operation. According to the airplane's Owner's Manual, the fuel boost pump should be switched to "HI" when switching from an empty fuel tank to a tank containing fuel. Apparently the pilot departed with the fuel selector positioned to the almost empty left tank and the engine lost power as a likely result of fuel starvation. The pilot then attempted to restart the engine by switching fuel tanks and turning the fuel boost pump on "HI." The pilot was unable to restart the engine before the airplane impacted the houses. Toxicological testing revealed evidence that the pilot had been taking two different prescription antidepressant medications, bupropion and fluoxetine. Fluoxetine was detected at higher than expected levels in the pilots blood, though it could not be determined if this was due to ingestion of higher than normal amounts of the medication. In typical doses, neither medication would be expected to result in significant impairment, though bupropion is associated with an increased risk of seizure activity, and impairment from the condition for which the medications were prescribed could not be excluded. Neither medication is typically approved by the FAA for use by pilots, and the pilot did not have a current FAA medical certificate.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power during approach as a result of fuel starvation due to the pilot's improper pre takeoff fuel system selector valve positioning. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/11/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1515 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lomita |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 90717 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334820N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1182038W |
| Event Location Airport | Zamperini Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TOA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 103 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1520 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TOA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 103 |
| 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 | 1500 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23947 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 11 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 30 2008 9:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Long Beach, CA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N225RJ |
| NTSB Number | SEA07FA228 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | T210G |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | T210-0287 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | May 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2904 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Fred Munoz |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | San Pedro |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| 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 | TOA |
| Departure City | Torrance |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1510 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | TOA |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - downwind |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2008 1:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29R |
| Runway Length | 5001 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |