Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Angelina County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lufkin, Texas 75941
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 11:40 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was flying a pipeline patrol flight about 500 feet above ground level. About 6 miles south of the destination, the engine abruptly lost power. The pilot observed that both fuel tanks contained a usable level of fuel. Additionally, he saw no obvious issues with the mixture setting, carburetor heat, magnetos, throttle position, and fuel shutoff valve. The pilot landed the airplane in a field with high vegetation, which resulted in strut damage.
The pilot did not report any fuel or oil leaks. During a postaccident examination, the engine was intermittently operational. The engine would produce power when the carburetor was “tapped” after the engine stopped. A carburetor examination revealed that the accelerator pump was operational and that the fuel screens were clear of debris. However, the forked needle valve’s movement within its seat was restricted. The valve clip forks were observed resting on the valve seat when the carburetor’s throttle body was inverted. The carburetor maintenance manual specified that a minimum clearance must exist between the forked valve clip and the valve seat. It is likely that the restricted movement of the carburetor’s forked needle valve resulted from the mechanic’s misadjustment of the valve clip forks, which subsequently caused the engine to lose power due to fuel starvation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The restricted movement of the carburetor’s forked needle valve within its seat due to the mechanic’s misadjustment of the valve clip forks, which resulted in fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/3/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1140 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lufkin |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 75941 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 310852N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0944615W |
| Event Location Airport | ANGELINA COUNTY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LFK |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 192 |
| Airport Elevation | 295 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 9 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KLFK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 316 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KLFK 031553Z AUTO VRB06KT 10SM CLR 29/18 A3004 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32780 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ASW-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 3 2014 5:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N255SF |
| NTSB Number | CEN13LA406 |
| 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 | AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT |
| Aircraft Model | 7GCBC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1287-2000 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1800 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 19 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2842.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KCSI AERIAL PATROL INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BAKERSFIELD |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93307-4400 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | KCSI AERIAL PATROL INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | BAKERSFIELD |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93307-4400 |
| 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) | Aerial Observation |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LBX |
| Departure City | ANGLETON/LAKE JACKSON |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | LFK |
| Destination City | Lufkin |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2014 7:13PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |