# Accident 19980615023549A: Amtr LANCAIR320, Philipsburg, PA, June 15, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 15, 1998, 13:00 local time - Place: Philipsburg, PA - Airport: Mid State Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.8493° N, 116.5599° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8493&lon=-116.5599&mi=10 - Aircraft: N96GF, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N96GF) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Fife Glade W LANCAIR 320 (registry code 05602HD, https://openairdocs.org/model/fife-glade-w-lancair-320) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (registry code 42120, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-320-e2a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR LANCAIR320 - Reported engine: LYC O320* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 3,969 total, 52 in this make and model, 7 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98LA204](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA204) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980615023549A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. DEAD BATTERY FUEL STOP. JUMP STARTED. ENROUTE ALTERNATOR BREAKER POPPED. ELECTED PSB. UNABLE RIGHT GEAR MANUALLY. (.19) ON JUNE 15, 1998, AT 1300 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A FIFE LANCAIR 320, N96GF, AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT, COLLAPSED THE NOSE GEAR DURING LANDING AT THE PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT/OWNER WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT HAD ORIGINATED FROM PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, AT 1115 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT OVER PALM SPRINGS THE FUEL INDICATOR WAS INDICATING LOW FUEL. HE ATTEMPTED TO SWITCH FUEL TANKS, BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AND DECIDED TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. DURING THE LANDING APPROACH THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE AND HE WAS UNABLE TO FULLY EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR. (.4) AFTER REFUELING, THE AIRCRAFT HAD TO BE JUMP-STARTED BY A GROUND POWER SOURCE. AFTER TAKEOFF, THE MAIN CIRCUIT BREAKER TRIPPED AND THE PILOT MANUALLY RESET IT WITH A POSITIVE CHARGE SHOWN ON THE AMMETER. ABOUT 30 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE RADIO AND FUEL TRANSFER PUMP W ERE WEAK, AND HE REDUCED ALL NONESSENTIAL ELECTRICAL LOADS. A SHORT TIME LATER THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE HEADER TANK WAS 1/3 FULL, AND ATTEMPTED TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO MANUALLY EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR, HOWEVER, ONLY THE RIGHT MAIN EXTENDED. AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE AIRPLANE SLID OFF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS MOVED PRIOR TO EXAMINATION AND THE SOURCE OF THE ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. (-23) ON JUNE 15, 1998, MR. GLADE FIFE LEFT ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, AT 7:45 AM ENROUTE TO OCEANSIDE, CA. MR. FIFE STOPPED IN PRESCOTT, AZ, FOR FUEL AND, UPON LEAVING, HE FOUND THE AIRCRAFT BATTERY COULD NOT START THE ENGINE. MR. FIFE RECEIVED AN ASSISTED BATTERY START AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF THE ALTERNATOR 50 AMPERE CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED. MR. FIFE REALIZED HE HAD AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WHEN HIS RADIO COMMUNICATIONS BECAME WEAK AND THAT THE FUEL FROM THE WING TANK WAS NOT BEING TRANSFERRED AT THE NORMAL FLOW RATE TO THE HEADER TANK. MR. FIFE DECIDED TO DESCEND TO PALM SPRINGS AIRPORT, PALM SPRINGS, CA. MR. FIFE TRIED TO EXTEND THE HYDRAULIC OPERATED LANDING GEA R MANUALLY AND SUCCEEEDED IN EXTENDING THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR ONLY. MR. FIFE LANDED AND RAN OFF RUNWAY 31R DAMAGING THE LEFT WING AND PROPELLER. MR. FIFE, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INJURIES.^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX98LA204](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA204), Jun 15, 1998: Fife Lancair 320 (N96GF), Palm Springs, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A failure of the electrical system for undetermined reasons. The pilot's decision to continue flight with a suspected electrical system anomaly is a factor in the accident. ## Other reports on N96GF (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20191006014359I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191006014359I), Oct 6, 2019: Fife Glade W LANCAIR 320 (N96GF), Waukesha, WI, Minor damage. On October 6, 2019 at approximately 1850 during landing at Waukesha airport, a Lancair 320, N96GF, landed hard and the nose gear collapsed causing minor damage… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.