- Date
- August 21, 1983, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wakefield, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N80FEStarduster II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830821043289A
- Case key
- 6173
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During flt, the eng lost power & the propeller stopped. The passenger recalled hearing a 'ticking' sound from the eng prior to the power loss. According to the plt & the passenger, the acft stalled & began to spin as the plt tried to turn into a bean field during a forced landing approach. An exam of the eng revealed a hole had been burned thru the top of the #4 cylinder near a spark plug hole. The piston tops were free of carbon & had evidence of excessive heat, which would be indicative of detonation. The #1 piston was scuffed, there was a small section missing from the top side of the piston & there was a hole in the piston at the bottom compression ring. A fuel sample was checked & did not meet the specifications for aviation gasoline, but had characteristics of automotive fuel. Additionally, champion RHB32E spark plugs were found in the eng, but were not approved in the Continental IO-360-D.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80FE
- Reported as
- Starduster II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 62169
- Airframe hours
- 57
- Engine
- Continental IO-360, 215 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fred L. Emerson
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 12, 1983 · 57 hours before
- Departed
- Newport News, VA
- Destination
- Petersburg, VA
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 1,756 total · 30 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.