- Date
- July 22, 1982, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Tower City, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N55JGBucker Jungmann BU-131
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820722031829A
- Case key
- 72852
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 engine lost power when the aircraft was about 50 ft AGL during takeoff and landed in a rolling field of crops. The plane contacted the ground in a right bank/nose down attitude and came to rest at the point of impact. The engine separated from the fuselage and there was extensive damage to the fuel, oil and ignition systems. Small rusted mettalic particles were found in the carburetor, fuel screen, fuel lines and in the fuel, but no blockage was verified. An inspection of the fuel dispensing equipment, where the aircraft was refueled, revealed that the equipment was in a deteriorated condition.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55JG
- Reported as
- Bucker Jungmann BU-131
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Airframe hours
- 340
- Engine
- Hirth HM504, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- C. Jay Seiler
- Registered owner
- C. Jay Seiler
- Departed
- Tower City, PA
- Destination
- Tower City, PA
- Airport
- Bendigo, runway 25, 2,500 × 0 ft, grass/turf
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 21,000 total · 250 in this make and model · 300 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 189 °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.