- Date
- June 4, 1992, 09:17 local (16:17 UTC)
- Place
- Gila Bend, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4045Jacanin Great Lakes
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920604018289A
- Case key
- 27639
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 the pilot's failure to properly position the fuel selector in the full 'on' setting. A factor in the accident was the design of the fuel selector valve and the location of the temporary radio installation which limited the pilot's view of the selector valve.
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 had just purchased the aircraft and was on the delivery flight from Arizona to Georgia. He landed at the airport for a fuel stop and took off after topping the fuel tank. The pilot said he attained about 100 feet AGL when the engine power level suddenly reduced to idle. The pilot said he had insufficient altitude to affect a landing and collided with the ground in a nose down attitude. FAA inspectors examined the aircraft and found no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction. The fuel selector is an 'on' or 'off' valve without detents. One quarter of a turn (90 degrees) of the valve is the total motion between settings. The valve handle was found about 15 degrees from the full on position. The previous aircraft owner stated that the fuel valve is very sensitive to being in an intermediate setting. He said that if the valve were in anything but the full on position, the engine would not run.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4045
- Reported as
- Jacanin Great Lakes (GREAT LAKE)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 6906F161B
- Airframe hours
- 285
- Engine
- Continental C-75, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John H. Connor
- Registered owner
- John H. Connor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 30, 1992 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- E63
- Destination
- DGL · Douglass, AZ
- Airport
- E63 · Gila Bend Muni, runway 4, 3,800 × 75 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 10,899 total · 2 in this make and model · 10,899 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 106 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.