# Accident 19981102031189A: Amtr LONGEZ, Alvin, TX, November 2, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 2, 1998, 16:30 local time - Place: Alvin, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.4300° N, 95.2401° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4300&lon=-95.2401&mi=10 - Aircraft: N21EE, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N21EE-2001-02-26) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Morris Owen G RUTAN LONG EZE (registry code 056901W, https://openairdocs.org/model/morris-owen-g-rutan-long-eze) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR LONGEZ - Reported engine: LYC O235C - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 224 total, 38 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99FA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99FA018) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981102031189A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON NOVEMBER 2, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1630 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A MORRIS, RUTAN LONG EZE HOMEBUILT EXPERIMENTAL AIRPLANE, N21EE, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT AND FOUR OTHER PEOPLE, WAS DESTROYED DURING A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A COMPLETE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER NEAR ALVIN, TEXAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES AND HIS PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE LOCAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1600 FROM CLOVER AIRPORT NEAR HOUSTON, TEXAS. DURING PERSONAL INTERVIEWS, CONDUCTED BY THE INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE (IIC) LOCAL AUTHORITIES REPORTED THAT DURING THE RESCUE OPERATION, "THE PILOT SATED THAT THE ENGINE HAD QUIT". WITNESSES APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED HEARING A "SUDDEN SHUT OFF OF ENGINE NOISE" AS THEY OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE. WHEN THE AIRPLANE DID NOT RETURN TO CLOVER FIELD, PILOTS AT THE AIRPORT INITIATED THE SEARCH AND RESCUE. THE AIRPLANE WAS LOCATED AT 0900 THE FOLLOWING MORNING. EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE BY THE IIC REVEALED THAT THE FUSELAGE, WITH THE ENGINE INTACT, CAME TO REST INVERTED AGAINST THE UPSLOPE OF THE WATER DYKE. THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT WAS AN INTERNATIONAL FARM COMBINE UTILIZED FOR HARVESTING RICE. AN IMPRINT OF THE LETTER "N" WAS FOUND ON THE TREAD OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR TIRE. THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION PATH EXTENDED ON A MEASURED MAGNETIC HEADING OF 064 DEGREES FOR A DISTANCE OF 86 FEET FROM THE COMBINE TO THE DYKE. NUMEROUS PIECES OF FIBERGLASS FROM THE FORWARD CANARD AND LEFT WING WERE FOUND ON THE COMBINE. THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR AND GEAR STRUTS WERE ALSO FOUND ON THE COMBINE. BOTH WINGS WERE SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE. THE LEFT WING WAS FOUND 27 FEET FROM THE COMBINE, AND THE OUTBOARD PORTION OF THE RIGHT WING WAS FOUND 43 FEET FROM THE COMBINE. THE NOSE GEAR, FRON TCANARD, EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER, AND THE INBOARD PORTION OF THE RIGHT WING WERE SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE AND FOUND ALONG THE EDGE OF THE DRAINAGE DITCH WHICH RUNS ALONG THE BASE OF THE DYKE. (.4) THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A RICE HARVESTING COMBINE DURING A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE 'ENGINE RPM DROPPED RAPIDLY' AND TURNING ON THE FUEL BOOST PUMP, SWITCHING THE FUEL SELECTOR FROM LEFT TO RIGHT THEN BACK TO LEFT, AND CHECKING THE MAGNETO SWITCH DID NOT RESTORE ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT DID NOT RECALL CHECKING THE CARBURETOR HEAT OR THE MIXTURE CONTROL. DURING THE FINAL APPROACH TO A DIRT ROAD, WHICH RAN BETWEEN TWO RICE FIELDS, THE PILOT REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO CLEAR THE RICE COMBINE PARKED ADJACENT TO THE DIRT ROAD AND LEVELED THE WINGS JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THERE WAS A BROKEN FUEL LINE FITTING ON THE OUTPUT SIDE OF THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP. THE FITTING WAS REPLACED AND THE ENGINE WAS TEST-RUN FOR 20 MINUTES AT VARIOUS POWER AND MIXTURE SETTINGS. NO ANOMALIES WERE NOTED DURING THE TEST-RUN. AN NTSB METALLURGIST FOUND THAT THE FRACTURE SURFACE OF THE FUEL LINE FITTING 'CONTAINED DUCTILE DIMPLE FEATURES, TYPICAL OF OVERSTRESS SEPARATIONS.' (-23) IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT APPROXIMATELY 2,500 FEET THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT BEGAN A DESCENT FOR EMERGENCY LANDING ON A DIRT ROAD IN A LARGE DRY RICE FIELD. THE PILOT SAID HE DID NOT SEE ANY OBSTRUCTION AT HIS EMERGENCY LANDING SPOT UNTIL THE LAST FEW SECONDS. THE AIRCRAFT LOST IT'S WINGS, CANARD, LANDING GEAR, NOSE, AND CANOPY WHEN IT HIT A RICE COMBINE PARKED A T THE EDGE OF THE DIRT ROAD. ## 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 FTW99FA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99FA018), Nov 2, 1998: Morrisey Rutan Long EZE (N21EE), Alvin, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. 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.