# NTSB LAX06LA271: Boeing E75, N58980, Morgan Hill, CA, August 25, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 25, 2006, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Morgan Hill, CA - Coordinates: 37.148612, -121.643058 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.1486&lon=-121.6431&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 64407 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06LA271 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64407/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA271 ## Probable cause Excessive fuel flow through the carburetor which resulted in leaking fuel, and subsequent in-flight fire while maneuvering. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Fire, maneuvering - fuel system,carburetor - excessive flow/output (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency landing - terrain condition - rough/uneven ## Analysis While in an aerobatic maneuver, the pilot encountered an engine fire. The pilot leaned the mixture, extinguishing the fire, and after an unsuccessful restart attempt, preformed an emergency landing to a field. The airplane came to rest inverted. Post accident examination of the airplane showed that fuel was leaking at a rapid rate from the carburetor. After the carburetor was removed from the airframe, fuel was supplied to the bowl and the float floated to a level that shut off the flow of fuel. The carburetor fuel flow anomaly could not be reproduced following removal of the carburetor from the engine. ## Factual narrative On August 25, 2006, at 1330 Pacific daylight time, a Boeing E 75 (Stearman), N58980, came to rest inverted following a forced landing in a field in Morgan Hill, California. The pilot was operating the privately registered airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries, and one passenger (the owner of the airplane) was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local area flight. The pilot departed from Reid-Hillview Airport, San Jose, California, at 1300. According to the owner of the airplane, the purpose of the flight was to perform aerobatics in the local area. During one of the maneuvers, flames emanated from the right side of the engine. The pilot pulled the mixture to the lean position and the fire went out. A restart was attempted but was unsuccessful so the pilot performed a precautionary landing to a field. The airplane pitched forward just prior to touchdown and nosed-over. The aircraft recovery personnel noted that when the airplane was righted from its inverted position, fuel poured from the carburetor area. They turned the fuel selector to the OFF position, placed the mixture control to idle cutoff, drained the remaining fuel from the tanks, and removed the wings for transport. On November 17, 2006, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator examined the wreckage. The investigator turned the fuel selector to the ON position and placed the mixture control to full rich. Residual fuel from the airplane's fuel lines could be heard filling the carburetor bowl. Fuel was then observed leaking at a rapid rate from the carburetor area. The mixture control was placed in the idle cutoff position and fuel still leaked from the carburetor area. The fuel selector was then placed in the OFF position and fuel stopped flowing from the carburetor. The carburetor, a Bendix Stromberg NAR6D, was removed from the engine and the investigator noted that the intake manifold displayed heavy black soot throughout. The throttle inlet and venturi was blackened with heavy soot. The carburetor halves were split to examine the float. The metallic float did not display any cracks or holes that would permit the float to sink. Fuel was added to the bowl and the float floated to a level that completely shut off the fuel inlet line. No anomalies were noted with the carburetor after its removal, with the exception of a leather seal that protected the accelerator pump plunger housing was torn. Thumb compression was obtained on each cylinder, with all of them producing compression. Dark soot was noted throughout the intake and exhaust systems. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N58980](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N58980), registered now, S/N 75-5800 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Boeing E75 - Registry model: [Boeing E75](https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-e75) (registry code 1380120) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 75-5800 - Airframe hours: 3900 - Engines: Teledyne Continental R-670 220 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Javier and Anna Garcia - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, November 1, 2005, 25 hours before - Departed: RHV, Reid-Hillview, CA - Destination: RHV ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 73; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review July 1, 2005; seat: front; flight hours: 24,000 total, 300 in this make and model, 23,800 as pilot in command, 165 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 5 knots - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.84 inHg - Observed at: KRHV, 14 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 20060825018819A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060825018819A), Aug 25, 2006: Boeing E75, Morgan Hill, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Carburetor float stuck in full rich during acrobatic maneuvers. Manual rotation of engine was smooth with no mechanical resistance. No other mechanical… 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.