- Date
- November 1, 1991, 09:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Okeechobee, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8631HNorth American Navion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911101049929A
- Case key
- 33027
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Operation by the owner/pilot-in-command with known deficiencies in equipment and fuel starvation due to a blocked fuel line.
Analysis
After takeoff with the fuel selector positioned to the auxiliary fuel tank, the eng quit due to fuel exhaustion in that tank. The plt repositioned the fuel selector to the main fuel tank position which contained an adequate supply of fuel, but the eng started only momentarily, then quit. The pilot landed the acft gear up in a field. Exam of the acft by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed that a rubber fuel line which connects the main tank to the fuel selector was blocked by contaminants. The plt had in the past operated the eng using automotive fuel without an STC. He was also aware before the accident that the eng would lose power with the fuel selector positioned to the main tank.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8631H
- Reported as
- North American Navion
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- NAV-4-596
- Airframe hours
- 3,099
- Engine
- Continental E-225-4, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Swartz, Grant L.
- Registered owner
- Swartz, Grant L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 22, 1991 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- 00FL · Okeechobee, FL
- Destination
- SEF · Sebring, FL
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
- 73
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,343 total · 1,642 in this make and model · 9,592 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.