- Date
- March 22, 1984, 17:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Sawyer, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9026TLee M. Brown Taterbug SB-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840322008129A
- Case key
- 16252
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
The plt switched from main tank to aux tank, & about 10 minutes later, the eng began losing power switching back to the main tank did not help. The engine continued running but at greatly reduced power. A forced landing was made in a frozen stubble field. The plt said he drained about 3 ounces of water out of the main fuel strainer after the accident. No fuel lines were broken and no tanks ruptured. Investigators found very little fuel in the carburetor and what was found was contaminated with dirt and debris. The plt said that the fuel had been in the aux tank since last fall and he had not drained the aux tank sump prior to flying. The fuel used was a combination of aviation and automotive fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9026T
- Reported as
- Lee M. Brown Taterbug SB-1 (TATERBUG S)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1932
- Airframe hours
- 91
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harry R. Steenstrup
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · June 2, 1983 · 91 hours before
- Departed
- Minot, ND
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 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 273 total · 91 in this make and model · 231 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.