- Date
- October 28, 1991, 15:10 local (23:10 UTC)
- Place
- Pauma, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N664UGrumman G-164
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911028048539A
- Case key
- 27488
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
Fuel starvation due to a restricted fuel tank vent line. Contributing to the accident was inadequate maintenance.
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 said that he was in cruise flight when the engine sputtered and quit. He landed on a golf course and the aircraft collided with trees during the landing roll out. Responding FAA inspectors reported that they examined the aircraft on the accident site and found no fuel in the aircraft fuel tanks. However, a fuel line was ruptured near the bottom of the fuselage. Airworthiness inspectors examined the engine and found no mechanical malfunctions or failures. The pilot stated that the loss of power was due to a partially blocked fuel vent line, which prevented the fuel tank from properly venting to the atmosphere.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N664U
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 400
- Airframe hours
- 2,560
- Engine
- Jacobs R-755A, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 137
- Operator
- Gene Ferguson
- Registered owner
- Gene Ferguson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 22, 1991 · 45 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
- 36
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 7,558 total · 75 in this make and model · 6,953 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N664U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.