# NTSB LAX04LA204: Rocket Flyers LLC, N724TL, Tipton, CA, May 7, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 7, 2004, 13:20 local (20:20 UTC) - Place: Tipton, CA - Coordinates: 36.083057, -119.251113 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0831&lon=-119.2511&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 7, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59195 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04LA204 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59195/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04LA204 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of air migrating into the fuel control unit. The ultimate reason for the air entry into the fuel control unit was not determined. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, descent - normal - fuel system,fuel control - contamination,other than water (cause) - fluid,fuel - starvation (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing - On ground/water collision with object, emergency landing - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The single engine experimental airplane collided with terrain after experiencing a loss of engine power. About 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot selected an area to make a forced landing. He identified some power lines that were in the selected landing area so he diverted the airplane to a highway and landed gear up. To avoid a truck, the pilot veered the plane off the highway and into rough terrain where the wing struck a tree. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector supervised an airframe and engine examination. The engine was a Diemech M601D turboprop. He determined that the airplane had fuel in its fuel tank when it landed. He found air in the engine's fuel control system. Maintenance technicians bled the fuel control and fuel pump. They then completed a test run of the engine without incident. The owner/pilot said that because air was found in the fuel control unit there was a possible design flaw in the way fuel is delivered from the fuel tank to the engine. ## Factual narrative On May 7, 2004, at 1320 Pacific daylight time, a Willis T/Rocket Flyers LLC, N724TL, collided with a tree during a forced landing that was precipitated by a loss of engine power 3 miles northeast of Tipton, California. The airline transport pilot/owner was operating the airplane the under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and passenger were not injured, and the experimental category airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan had been filed. The personal cross-country flight originated at Eloy, Arizona, about 1120 mountain standard time. The pilot told the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the airplane turboprop Diemech M601D engine lost power about 25 miles east of Tulare, California, their destination. About 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot selected an area to make a forced landing. He identified some power lines that were in the selected landing area so he diverted the airplane to a highway and landed gear up. To avoid a truck, the pilot veered the airplane off the highway and into rough terrain where the wing struck a tree. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector supervised an airframe and engine examination. He determined that the airplane had fuel in its fuel tank when it landed. He found air in the engine's fuel control system. Maintenance technicians bled the fuel control and fuel pump. They then completed a test run of the engine without incident. The pilot stated in the Pilot/Operator Accident Report that because air was found in the fuel control unit there was a possible design flaw in the way fuel is delivered from the fuel tank to the engine. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N724TL](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N724TL-2009-04-01), registration cancelled 2009-04-01, S/N 7 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Rocket Flyers LLC - Registry model: [Willis T/Rocket Flyers TURBINE LEGEND](https://openairdocs.org/model/willis-t-rocket-flyers-turbine-legend) (registry code 056153W) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 007 - Airframe hours: 72.8 - Engines: Diemech Turbines Inc M601D 724 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Steve R. Jackson - Registered owner: Rocket Flyers LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, March 16, 2004, 21.5 hours before - Departed: KE60, Eloy, AZ - Destination: KTLR, Mefford, CA - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: KTLR, Mefford Field ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; injuries: none; flight engineer, military, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review February 29, 2004; seat: front; flight hours: 21,980 total, 31 in this make and model, 16,446 as pilot in command, 210 in the last 90 days, 70 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: KVIS, 12 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 20040507007239A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040507007239A), May 7, 2004: Amtr TURBINLEGEND, Tipton, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) An experimental aircraft lost engine power and force landed approximately 3 miles east of highway 99 near highway 152 outside the town of Tipton, CA.… ## Other investigations on N724TL (1) 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. - [NTSB DFW06LA097](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW06LA097), Apr 7, 2006: Rocket Flyers Turbine Legend (N724TL), Hammond, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The reported loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. 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.