- Date
- September 19, 1982, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Butler, PA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N827ZFoster Airspeed
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 19, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820919047039A
- Case key
- 70092
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 owner intended to put his aircraft on static display at the airport fly-in which was on the same airport. A friend informed the owner that he would like to fly the plane and the owner disclosed that it did not have a current inspection. The plane was fueled with 3 gal of gasoline and the owner suggested that his friend taxi it to the static display area. Witnesses reported that the aircraft took off on runway 18 and began a climbing left turn. One witness reported the engine lost power at about 150 ft AGL. The aircraft entered a steep turn and the nose began dropping. Reportedly, the pilot attempted to pull the aircraft up from a high sink rate. According to a nearby witness, the aircraft impacted in a flat attitude. An investigation revealed the outlet of the fuel tank was in the center/bottom of the tank. The owner believed that with only 3 gal of fuel, fuel starvation could occur in uncoordinated flight or steep climbs or dives. He believe there was 1 gal of unusable fuel in normal banks/careful climb
Aircraft
- Registration
- N827Z
- Reported as
- Foster Airspeed
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- HCF4
- Airframe hours
- 97
- Engine
- Lycoming O-145-B, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Henry C. Foster
- Registered owner
- Henry C. Foster
- Departed
- Butler, PA
- Destination
- Butler, PA
- Airport
- Butler Farm, runway 18, 2,590 × 100 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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 165 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.