- Date
- June 23, 1990, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Davis, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N360GCChilds 360
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900623021939A
- Case key
- 26578
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
An engine failure due to fuel exhaustion after the pilot failed to properly secure the stopper to the fuel tank.
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 pilot observed the fuel tank stopper back out of the filler neck and depart the aircraft. A large quantity of fuel surged out of the tank. During the return to the runway the engine quit and the aircraft collided with a storage building during the descent and landing. The pilot stated he may not have secured the stopper tight enough after an earlier refueling that morning.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N360GC
- Reported as
- Childs 360
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Airframe hours
- 141
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gary P. Childs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 25, 1989 · 4 hours before
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 1,244 total · 141 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 57 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.