- Date
- May 4, 1992, 21:15 local (May 5, 1992, 04:15 UTC)
- Place
- Modesto, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2310BPiper PA23-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920504032799A
- Case key
- 27616
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 power loss due to fuel contamination.
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
According to the pilot, the aircraft was about 50 to 100 feet AGL in the takeoff initial climb when the left engine suddenly quit. The pilot corrected for the yaw condition and had just restabilized the aircraft when the left engine surged into life. The pilot decided to land the aircraft and it impacted gear up in a level attitude in a grassy area between the runways. FAA airworthiness inspectors determined that the aircraft was operating on an automotive fuel supplemental type certificate. A quantity of water and rust colored sediment was drained from the left fuel tank sump. No other system abnormalities were identified during the examination of the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2310B
- Reported as
- Piper PA23-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23-10
- Airframe hours
- 4,136
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John D. Rowlett
- Registered owner
- John D. Rowlett
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 7, 1991 · 20 hours before
- Destination
- Q68 · Groveland, CA
- Airport
- MOD · Modesto, runway 28, 5,911 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 48
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,995 total · 40 in this make and model · 1,200 as pilot in command · 124 in the last 90 days · 53 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.