- Date
- July 7, 1989, 23:00 local (Jul 8, 1989, 07:00 UTC)
- Place
- Eureka, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7029KPiper PA-20
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890707021119A
- Case key
- 5221
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Loss of engine power for an unknown reason. A factor related to the accident was: rough terrain in the emergency landing area.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was using automotive fuel in his airplane & had made numerous takeoffs & landings in rapid succession. The temperature was 50 degrees, the sky was clear & the airstrip elevation was about 4000 ft. just after lift-off, the engine coughed once, then stopped completely as if someone had turned it off. Subsquently the airplane was damaged during a landing on uneven tundra. No mechanical irregularitties were found with the engine or airplane. The carburetor composite float was weighted & found to be within specified limits, but when sectioned, it gave off a slight hydrocarbonodor. Vapor pressure of the auto fuel was rprtd to be 15 PSI as compared to 5 PSI for 100 octane aviation fuel (auto fuel more susceptible to vapor lock).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7029K
- Reported as
- Piper PA-20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20-138
- Airframe hours
- 1,851
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D-135, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dave Hannam
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 18, 1989 · 34 hours before
- Airport
- Dirt Strip
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 24
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 189 total · 27 in this make and model · 179 as pilot in command · 112 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 90 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.