- Date
- June 26, 2003, 11:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Corona, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N164JRPieterse Kitfox 2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030626022309A
- Case key
- 57332
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 improper design and installation of the airplane's fuel system by the builder of the experimental airplane, which resulted in fuel starvation and a loss of engine power.
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 private pilot reported a loss of engine power in the homebuilt experimental airplane when he reduced power and lowered the nose to descend for a landing. He was unable to restore engine power, and made an emergency landing in a dirt field. The airplane came to rest inverted, sustaining structural damage. The owner/pilot reported that the original builder of the airplane had installed the fuel pick up in the wing tanks so that when flying with half tanks in a nose down attitude, fuel was undeliverable to the engine. The owner/pilot noted he solved the problem by redesigning the fuel system so that the fuel flows into a header tank that has an associated electric fuel pump.
Factual narrative
On June 26, 2003, about 1110 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Pieterse Kitfox 2, N164JR, experienced a loss of engine power and made a forced landing in Corona, California. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal local flight departed Corona Municipal Airport (AJO) Corona, California, about 1105. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The primary wreckage was at 33 degrees 52 minutes north latitude and 117 degrees 31 minutes west longitude.
In a telephone interview the pilot related that he had taken off from AJO on a local flight. The pilot said that he was about 2 miles from the airport when the engine started to run rough and then quit. The pilot made a forced landing in a dirt field, and during the rollout the airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot reported that the right wing had damage to a rib and the left wing had damage to the strut.
The airplane was recovered and transported to AJO for further investigation.
The owner/pilot reported that the builder had routed the fuel pick up so that when flying in a nose down attitude, and with half tanks, the fuel was undeliverable to the engine. The owner changed the fuel system pick up and added an electric fuel boost pump to prevent a similar occurrence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N164JR
- Reported as
- Pieterse Kitfox 2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 268
- Airframe hours
- 95
- Engine
- Rotax 832, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ron Ben-Itzhak
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 29, 2003 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- KAJO · Corona, CA
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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- November 22, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 720 total · 50 in this make and model · 620 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- CNO, 10 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.