- Date
- June 20, 1994, 15:04 local (19:04 UTC)
- Place
- East Quogue, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N64628Jones Thorp T-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940620048819A
- Case key
- 38770
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
Inadequate maintenance which resulted in oil-fouled spark plugs and the loss of engine power.
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 airplane was being flown for the first time in about 4 years when the engine lost power during a local flight at an altitude of 4500 feet msl. The pilot did a forced landing on a the side of a highway and the airplane nosed over during the landing. Examination of the airplane revealed the number four cylinder spark plugs were oil fouled. The engine had been overhauled about a month before the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 20, 1994, about 1504 hours eastern daylight time, N64628, a McLam Thorp T-18 homebuilt airplane, lost engine power during cruise flight and was forced landed on side of a highway at East Quogue, New York. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. The departure point was Gabreski Airport, Westhampton Beach, New York. The local flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
This was the first time the airplane had been flown in about 4 years. The engine was overhauled and installed on May 31, 1994. The engine subsequently was ground operated for about 2 hours.
The airplane was about five miles east of the airport when according to the pilot: "...my engine was starting to give me problems. I attempted to land back at (the airport) but found I could not make it. I decided to land it on an open area on the Sunrise Highway, due to wooded area. I was, at this point, going west and attempted to land on the westbound shoulder. My plane engine quit and I had to land the plane on the shoulder. I avoided all vehicles and as I landed, it flipped to the right."
The National Transportation Safety Board had the aircraft examined by A&P Aircraft Maintenance Inc. of Brookhaven Airport and it was disclosed that the number four engine cylinder spark plugs were oil fouled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N64628
- Reported as
- Jones Thorp T-18
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 825
- Airframe hours
- 279
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Theodore Mclam, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 16, 1994 · 2 hours before
- Destination
- FOK · Westhampton Bch, NY
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
- 69
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,800 total · 250 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FOK, 3 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.
Other investigations on N64628 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.