- Date
- September 11, 1989, 18:15 local (Sep 12, 1989, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Winston, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9496DPiper PA-18A-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890911034439A
- Case key
- 17781
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
Deteriorated carburetor float. Factors related to the accident were: high density altitude and the terrain conditions 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 plt leaned the mixture & took off on rwy 30, a high alt dirt strip with a 3.8% uphill gradient. Winds were from the nnw at abt 14 KTS. At aprx 200' to 300' AGL, the eng began to lose power. The acft settled & crashed on rocky terrain as the plt was avoiding trees. Fire consumed the acft. A teardown of the marvel-schebler MA4-SPA carb revealed it contained a composite float (which was deteriorated), part of the float toe was missing & the needle valve was stuck. The valve & seat were covered with a soft/sticky substance & the inlet filter screen was almost entirely blocked by foreign debris. An STC had been issued for N9496D, which allowed use of auto fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9496D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18A-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-6748
- Airframe hours
- 2,522
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kramer, John Edward
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 12, 1989 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- 1E3
- Destination
- NM51 · Edgewood, NM
- Airport
- 1E3 · Beaverhead, runway 30, 3,840 × 60 ft, dirt
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
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 7,914 total · 25 in this make and model · 3,318 as pilot in command · 258 in the last 90 days · 98 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 325° at 14 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 100 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9496D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.