Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Woodbine Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Woodbine, New Jersey 08270
Friday, June 20, 2008 19:43 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While performing aerobatics, the engine lost all power. Evidence indicates that the pilot attempted to restart the engine, and that the airplane impacted wires while the pilot attempted to execute a forced landing to a road. The airplane came to rest on the road and was partially consumed by the postcrash fire. No evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the airframe or engine was discovered. The airplane was equipped with two fuel tanks. The flight manual advised that, “Prolonged uncoordinated flight with low fuel quantities may uncover the fuel tank outlets, causing fuel starvation and engine failure.” The pilot however, had modified the left fuel tank with an inverted fuel system, to allow the engine to operate while the airplane was in unusual attitudes or inverted. Examination of the left fuel tank revealed that it had been modified with the inclusion of a flop tube (a flexible hose with a weight attached at its free end). When the airplane was right side up, the hose would feed fuel from the bottom of the left fuel tank, and when the plane would roll inverted, the weight would cause the hose to flop to the top of the left fuel tank, and feed its fuel from there, allowing the engine to continue to run. Examination of the right side of the fuel system revealed it was similar to the system described in the kit manufacturer’s assembly manual and did not have a flop tube. The floor mounted fuel selector was found set to the right tank.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to select the proper tank prior to performing aerobatics.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/20/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1943 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Woodbine |
| Event State | NEW JERSEY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 08270 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 391610N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0745158W |
| Event Location Airport | Woodbine Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1N4 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 6 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 42 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1935 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 230 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | WWD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 23 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26301 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 20 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 6 2009 2:14PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Philadelphia, PA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N623BL |
| NTSB Number | NYC08LA222 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Dennis P. McGurk |
| Aircraft Model | F1 Rocket |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 60 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2000 |
| 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 | Sep 20 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 190 |
| Airframe Hours | 190 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Dennis P. McGurk |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mays Landing |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 08330 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Dennis P. McGurk |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mays Landing |
| Operator State | NJ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 08330 |
| 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 | 1N4 |
| Departure City | Woodbine |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1933 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 1N4 |
| Destination City | Woodbine |
| Destination State | NJ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 6 2009 2:14PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |