# Accident 20160813024579A: Luscombe 8A, Marlboro Twp, NJ, August 13, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 13, 2016, 13:03 local time
- Place: Marlboro Twp, NJ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.2850° N, 74.2228° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2850&lon=-74.2228&mi=10
- Aircraft: N71497, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N71497-2018-05-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Luscombe 8A (registry code 8190104, https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LUSCOMBE 8A
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 600 total, 550 in this make and model, 16 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA16LA291](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA291) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160813024579A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON AUGUST 13, 2016, ABOUT 1203 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A LUSCOMBE 8A, N71497, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD NEAR MARLBORO, NEW JERSEY. THE PRIVATE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED ABOUT 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES EARLIER FROM OLD BRIDGE AIRPORT (3N6), OLD BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY.

THE PILOT STATED TO FAA PERSONNEL WHILE HOSPITALIZED THAT THE FLIGHT DEPARTED 3N6 WITH 12 GALLONS OF FUEL AND FLEW AROUND LOCALLY. WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 1,200 FT MEAN SEA LEVEL, HE REPORTED THE ENGINE SUDDENLY QUIT, AND ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE ENGINE POWER WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. HE MANEUVERED FOR A FORCED LANDING TO A NEARBY RACETRACK BUT REALIZED THE FLIGHT WAS TOO HIGH. HE THEN MANEUVERED FOR A FORCED LANDING IN A FIELD, AND WHILE IN A LEFT BANK, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND. HE FURTHER STATED THAT THE ENGINE DID NOT SPUTTER, AND HE DID APPLY CARBURETOR HEAT BUT THAT DID NOT RESTORE ENGINE POWER.

ON AUGUST 13, 2016, A LUSCOMBE 8A, N71497 WAS DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD NEAR MARLBORO, NEW JERSEY, AND THE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE PILOT SAID HE WAS FLYING LOCALLY FOR ABOUT 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES THEN THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE SUDDENLY QUIT. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE WAS CONDUCTED BY CONTINENTAL MOTORS ON BEHALF OF THE NTSB ON SEPTEMBER 01, 2016 AT ANGLIN?S AIRCRAFT RECOVERY IN CLAYTON, DELAWARE. NO PRE-ACCIDENT ANOMALIES WERE NOTED WITH THE ENGINE OR ENGINE SYSTEMS THAT WOULD HAVE PRECLUDED THE PRODUCTION OF FULL, RATED POWER DURING THE EXAMINATION. THE ENGINE UNDERWENT A MAJOR OVERHAUL ON OCTOBER 12, 2015 AT A RECORDED TOTAL TIME OF 3,632 HOURS. THE ENGINE WAS THEN INSTALLED ON THE AIRCRAFT ON APRIL 8, 2016 AT A TACHOMETER TIME OF 76.9 HOURS. THE TACHOMETER READING AT THE TIME OF THE EXAMINATION WAS 92.49 HOURS.

ON AUGUST 15, TETERBORO FLIGHT STANDARD DISTRICT OFFICE INSPECTORS INSPECTED THE AIRCRAFT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AND FOUND NO FUEL IN THE AIRCRAFT FUEL TANK. THE FUEL CAPACITY OF THE AIRCRAFT IS 12 GALLONS. ANGLIN?S AIRCRAFT RECOVERY COMPANY WHO RECOVERED THE AIRCRAFT STATED THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. IMPROPER PREFLIGHT OF THE FUEL SYSTEM OR FUEL EXHAUSTION DURING THE FLIGHT MAYBE CONTRIBUTING ISSUES INVOLVED IN THIS ACCIDENT.

## 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 ERA16LA291](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA291), Aug 13, 2016: Luscombe 8 (N71497), Marlboro, NJ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent total loss of engine power.

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.

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