- Date
- June 29, 1989, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Reading, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N17537Vehafric Jungster ONE
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890629018339A
- Case key
- 36242
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 failure of the pilot to properly use carburetor heat.
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 stated that while he was in cruise flight at 2,500 feet MSL, the homebuilt airplane experienced a gradual, eventually complete, loss of engine power. The pilot performed a forced landing on a four lane highway located in rolling terrain. An FAA inspector described the highway as curving 'gently, but substantially' to the left. The airplane continued its landing roll, and impacted the guardrail located along the right side of the highway; it skidded along the guardrail for about 20 feet before it flipped over and came to a stop. Post-accident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction/difficulty. Weather conditions were conducive to the formation of carburetor ice.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N17537
- Reported as
- Vehafric Jungster ONE (JUNGSTER O)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 681099
- Airframe hours
- 44
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard M. Kaufman
- Registered owner
- Richard Mark/Martha A. Kaufman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 26, 1989 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- PA88 · Germansville, PA
- Destination
- 37PA · Smoketown, PA
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,609 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,509 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDG, 8 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.