- Date
- June 23, 1994, 12:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cloverdale, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8549CPiper PA-28-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 28781
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
Loss of engine power for an unknown reason.
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 reported he was cruising at 5,500 feet when the engine sputtered a couple of times. He looked at the fuel pressure gauge, and pressure was decreasing. After turning on the fuel pump, the pilot switched fuel tanks from the left main to the right main, and the engine did not respond. The pilot said he then shut everything off and made a forced landing in a river bed. An examination of the engine established aircraft electrical and fuel continuity. No visible signs of detonation were observed in the engine cylinders. No obstructions were noted in the fuel lines. The engine was started and run for 15 minutes at 3 different power combinations.
Factual narrative
On June 23, 1994, at 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235 aircraft, N8549C, collided with ground obstructions during a forced landing near Cloverdale, California. The forced landing was precipitated by a loss of engine power during cruise. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was on a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The pilot was not injured. The flight originated at Covelo airport on the day of the accident at 1200 with a destination of Oakland, California.
In a telephone interview, the pilot reported he was cruising at 5,500 feet when the engine sputtered a couple of times. He looked at the fuel pressure gauge, and pressure indication was decreasing. After turning on the fuel pump, the pilot switched fuel tanks from the left main to the right main. After doing so, the engine did not respond. The pilot said he then shut everything off and made a forced landing in a river bed.
On June 29, an examination was conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who reported that aircraft electrical and fuel continuity were established. No visible signs of detonation were observed in the engine cylinder. No obstructions were noted in the fuel lines. The engine was started and run 15 minutes at 3 different power combinations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8549C
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7610078
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B4-B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Alfredo Matteoni
- Registered owner
- Shirley D. Jacobs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 1993 · 125 hours before
- Departed
- O09 · Covelo, CA
- Destination
- OAK · Oakland, CA
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 607 total · 260 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- UKI, 20 nm away