# NTSB LAX03LA041: Clyde K Carrier Team 1400Z, N9190U, Woodland, CA, November 27, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 27, 2002, 10:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Woodland, CA - Coordinates: 38.618057, -121.85083 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.6181&lon=-121.8508&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 56137 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX03LA041 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/56137/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA041 ## Probable cause the builder/pilot's improper modification of wing fuel caps resulting in the failure of the vent system to adequately compensate for the pressure differential between the fuel tank and the external low pressure area of the wing. This led to the partial loss of engine power in cruise flight due to fuel starvation, and a forced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(partial) - nonmechanical, cruise - fluid,fuel - starvation (cause) - fuel system,cap - improper (cause) - maintenance,modification - improper, pilot in command (cause) - fuel system,vent - inadequate (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - In flight collision with terrain/water, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - ditch ## Analysis The airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power and collided with a ditch during a forced landing. About 800 feet above ground level (agl), the engine experienced a partial loss of engine power and was unable to sustain level flight. With a field below the airplane, the pilot initiated a sharp descent in an effort to make a forced landing. Upon touchdown, he stalled the airplane just before reaching an irrigation ditch. The wood reinforced plywood body of the airplane sustained damage upon impact. After the accident, the pilot conducted an examination of the airplane; he found no mechanical anomalies with the engine or airframe. He noted that prior to the accident flight he had installed new vented wing fuel caps, which were located in a negative pressure area of the wing. He opined that the low pressure area created a vacuum in the gravity fed fuel tank, restricting fuel flow to the engine, which resulted in a partial loss of power. ## Factual narrative On November 27, 2002, at 1000 Pacific standard time, an experimental Clyde K. Carrier Team 1400Z, N9190U, experienced a partial loss of engine power while in cruise flight and collided with a ditch during a forced landing near Woodland, California. The student pilot/builder was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot sustained serious injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. The personal local flight originated at Watts-Woodland Airport, Woodland, California, about 0950, with a planned destination of Yolo County-Davis (Woodland) Winters Airport, Davis/Woodland/Winters, California. In a written statement the pilot reported that about halfway to his intended destination, about 800 feet above ground level (agl), the engine experienced a loss of power. With a field below the airplane, the pilot initiated a sharp decent in an effort to make a forced landing on the field. About midfield, with the airplane about 15 to 20 feet agl, he noticed an irrigation ditch in front of the airplane. Upon touchdown, he stalled the airplane just before reaching the ditch. The wood reinforced plywood body of the airplane failed upon impact. The National Transportation Safety Board conducted a telephone interview with the pilot about 2 years after the accident. The pilot stated that the engine was operating all the way to touchdown, but he was unable to sustain level flight. After the accident, he conducted an examination of the airplane; he found no mechanical anomalies with the engine or airframe. He noted that prior to the accident flight he had installed new vented wing fuel caps, which were located in a negative pressure area of the wing. He opined that the low pressure area created a vacuum in the gravity fed fuel tank, restricting fuel flow to the engine, which resulted in a partial loss of power. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9190U](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9190U-2003-02-19), registration cancelled 2003-02-19, S/N 1670P, built 2001 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Clyde K Carrier Team 1400Z - Registry model: [Carrier Clyde K TEAM 1400Z](https://openairdocs.org/model/carrier-clyde-k-team-1400z) (registry code 05611RK) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 1670T - Engines: Rotax 503 45 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Clyde K. Carrier - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: O41, Woodland, CA - Destination: 2Q3, Davis, CA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 70; injuries: serious; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: center; flight hours: 20 total, 11 in this make and model, 11 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 4 knots - Visibility: 3 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: SAC, 13 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20021127033899A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021127033899A), Nov 27, 2002: Amtr TEAM1400Z, Woodland, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) On November 27, 2002, N9190U, team 1400Z, an amateur-built aircraft built by clyde k carrier crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing into a… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.