- Date
- January 31, 1993, 12:58 local (17:58 UTC)
- Place
- Lanham, MD
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1383RGrumman American AA-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930131001269A
- Case key
- 11897
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
The blockage of the right and left fuel vent line which prevented the flow of fuel to the engine causing total power loss.
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
About 10 minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of 1,400 feet MSL, the airplane's engine lost total power. The pilot could not restart the engine so he made a forced landing in a residential area. Due to the congested area, the pilot could not maneuver the airplane. To avoid hitting a home or powerline, the pilot stalled the airplane at about 200 feet above the ground. The airplane fell 200 feet onto a road. Examination of the wreckage disclosed that the left and right fuel vent lines were totally blocked by insect nests, which terminated the flow of fuel to the engine. The blockages were found in the fuel vent lines at the wing root.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1383R
- Reported as
- Grumman American AA-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5-0783
- Airframe hours
- 1,880
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2G, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David Spiegelthal
- Registered owner
- David Spiegelthal
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 29, 1992 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- W28 · Friendly, MD
- Destination
- W18 · Laurel, MD
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 450 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 13 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ADW, 2 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.