French Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Murrieta, California 92563
Friday, February 1, 2008 11:16 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the takeoff climb, the engine was starved of fuel and lost power. Following the power loss, the pilot activated the auxiliary fuel pump and tried unsuccessfully to restart the engine. The pilot was turning in a 10-degree bank toward an off-airport emergency landing site in open terrain, when the left main landing gear touched down first on the upsloping terrain. About 50 feet from the initial touchdown, the nose landing gear dug into the soft terrain and separated, and the airplane came to rest on its nose. The pilot reported that prior to the loss of power, the fuel pressure gage went to zero and he received a low fuel pressure warning. He further reported that on the daytime flight, he was operating all of his electrical systems; strobes, transponder, and radios. He said he believed that with the full operation of all the electrical devices, the electrically driven fuel pump did not have sufficient amperage to run. An inspection of the airplane revealed that the carburetor bowl was empty; even though there was fuel onboard the airplane. With the fuel pump not operating, fuel was not being supplied to the carburetor, thus allowing the engine to lose power as a result of fuel starvation. When functionally checked the fuel pump operated normally. The pilot reported that there was no recent maintenance done on the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which was induced by the electrical system lacking sufficient power to run all of the electrical devices on the airplane and the electrical fuel pump.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/1/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1116
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Murrieta
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92563
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333445N
Event Location Longitude 1170700W
Event Location Airport FRENCH VALLEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID F70
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1350
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1116 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID F70
Elevation of weather observation facility 1350
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23938
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 1 2008 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 WP-RAL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N601KS
NTSB Number LAX08LA056
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 Smith
Aircraft Model Zodiac 601XL
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6-5930
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Kenneth R Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Aguagna
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92536
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 F70
Departure City Murrieta/Temecu
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1116
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code F70
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 Jul 11 2008 6:40PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --