- Date
- January 14, 1989, 16:13 local (Jan 15, 1989, 00:13 UTC)
- Place
- Westlake, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7174LGrumman American AA-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890114000639A
- Case key
- 26321
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
Improper planning and decision by the pilot which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors were: faulty fuel indication, utility pole & uneven terrain.
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
Before reaching the destination arpt, the eng lost power. The plt attempted to restart the eng, but was unable. She maneuvered to land on a roadway & remained over the median as long as possible to avoid vehicles. Drg the landing, the right wing hit a utility pole next to the curb of the roadway & the wing was torn off the acft. The acft then went down an embankment & came to rest inverted. After the acdnt, the plt rprtd the acft had run out of fuel, while the gauge of the fullest tank was indicating 1/4 full.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7174L
- Reported as
- Grumman American AA-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1B-0454
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Emily Christine Newman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 9, 1987 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- L18 · Fallbrook, CA
- Destination
- CMA · Camarillo, 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
- 35
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,212 total · 1,175 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Observed at
- OXR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.