Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
French Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Murrieta/Temecu, California 92635
Tuesady, February 26, 2008 13:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that the engine lost power while on approach for landing in the amateur-built experimental airplane. Unable to reach the airport, the pilot initiated a forced landing in hilly desert terrain resulting in structural damage to the airframe. Inspection of the modified engine revealed that it was equipped with an electronic ignition system consisting of two capacitive discharge modules with direct crank sensors. Two five-amp fuses in the electrical circuit for the ignition system were found blown. Inspection of the electrical system found no failures of the physical airplane wiring. The pilot, who built the airplane, stated that he designed the ignition system's electrical circuit with the intention of providing electrical redundancy to the ignition system. Examination and testing of the design as installed demonstrated that a minor voltage differential between the main and redundant power source created a condition that routed the current flow for both ignition sources through a single fuse, resulting in a single point of failure. According to the ignition manufacturer, the recommended wiring configuration that would allow ignition power redundancy did not include the addition of a common bus bar as was found on the accident airplane. The positioning of the automotive fuses on the firewall prevented the pilot from accurately identifying the electrical failure.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power while on approach due to the electrical overload of a fuse caused by the builder's inadequate design and installation of the electrical ignition system.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/26/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1315 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Murrieta/Temecu |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92635 |
| 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 Airport |
| 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 | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1350 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CNO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 650 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| 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) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.14 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | 3 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25117 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 26 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 26 2009 5:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-RAL-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N811HB |
| NTSB Number | LAX08LA066 |
| 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 | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bartle |
| Aircraft Model | Lancair IV-P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | LIV-311 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3550 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 11 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 52 |
| Airframe Hours | 52 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Henry Bartle Trustee |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Independence |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97531 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Henry Bartle Trustee |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Independence |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97531 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | 1305 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | F70 |
| Destination City | Murrieta/Temecu |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 27 2009 5:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |