- Date
- May 22, 1994, 17:59 local (May 23, 1994, 00:59 UTC)
- Place
- Torrance, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N9514UGrumman AA-1C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940522015769A
- Case key
- 28745
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
a fatigue failure of the carburetor fuel inlet fitting. A fuel flow system modification and an inadequate annual inspection were factors in the accident.
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
After completion of a cross-country flight, the pilot taxied off the active runway and the engine quit. The pilot attempted to restart the airplane and noticed flames around the engine compartment. An examination of the engine revealed that the carburetor fuel inlet fitting was broken. The carburetor fuel line was connected to a 4-inch-long fuel flow transducer that was then connected to the carburetor fuel inlet fitting. A metallurgist reported that the fitting appeared to have broken due to fatigue. The maintenance records do not include any documentation of the fuel flow system installation. An annual inspection was completed 4.8 hours prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On May 22, 1994, at 1759 hours Pacific daylight time, a Grumman AA-1C, N9514U, experienced an engine fire after landing at Zamperini Field, Torrance, California. The airplane was being operated as an instrument flight rules (IFR) cross-country personal flight to Torrance when the accident occurred. The airplane, operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The certificated commercial pilot and a passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Mesa Del Rey Airport, King City, California, about 1540 hours.
The pilot reported that after landing on runway 29R and while taxiing on taxiway A, the engine quit. The pilot attempted to restart the engine and noticed flames around the engine compartment. The flames consumed the front half of the airplane before being extinguished.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector, Long Beach Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), inspected the airplane. He reported that a fuel line fitting to the carburetor appeared to have broken. The flexible fuel line to the carburetor was connected to a fuel flow transducer that was then attached to the carburetor fuel inlet fitting. The transducer was about 4 inches long.
The fuel fitting was examined by a metallurgist at the request of the owner's insurance company. The metallurgist reported that the fitting appeared to have separated due to fatigue. A written report of the examination is included in this report.
The engine had accrued 4.8 hours of operation since an annual inspection. The carburetor was overhauled as part of the inspection. The maintenance records do not include any documentation of the installation of the supplemental fuel flow system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9514U
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-1C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA1C0002
- Airframe hours
- 2,142
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James S. Thompson
- Registered owner
- James S. Thompson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 1994 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- KIC · King City, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- TOA · Zamperini Field, runway 29R, 5,000 × 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,153 total · 4,607 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TOA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.