Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Diego, California
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N17154
NTSB Identification: WPR15LA240
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 14, 2015 in Chula Vista, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/06/2017
Aircraft: STINSON SR 9B, registration: N17154
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The private pilot stated that, after about 30 minutes airborne on the local flight, the engine experienced a partial loss of power and the airplane began to lose altitude. The pilot switched the fuel selector to the other fuel tank and made a forced landing onto a highway. After touching down on the highway, the engine regained power and the pilot departed again; but shortly thereafter, the engine experienced a total loss of power. During the subsequent off-airport landing in a field, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot initially reported that he departed with about 20 gallons of fuel on board but was unsure of the exact quantity. He later stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane, and that the loss of power was likely the result of fuel starvation or exhaustion. During postaccident examination, there was no odor of fuel present around the wreckage and no evidence of fuel in the wing tanks or the fuel lines.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s failure to verify the fuel quantity before the flight.
On August 14, 2015, about 0700 Pacific daylight time, a Stinson SR-9B, N17154, experienced a total loss of engine power and landed in a dirt field in Chula Vista, California. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injury; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal local flight departed from Brown Field Municipal Airport, San Diego, California, about 0620. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot stated that he departed for a short practice flight with about 20 gallons of fuel on board, but was not sure of the precise quantity. After about 30 minutes airborne, as he began his return flight back to the airport, the engine power reduced and the airplane began to lose altitude. He switched the fuel selector to the other fuel tank and made a forced landing onto the 125 highway. After touching down on the highway, the engine regained power and became airborne before he had time to react. He attempted to return back to Brown Field but shortly thereafter, the airplane experienced a total loss of power. He again prepared for an off-airport landing and during the landing roll in a dirt field adjacent to Eastlake Parkway and Hunt Parkway, the airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot, who had recently purchased the airplane, noted that the last annual inspection occurred about one month prior to the accident and had flown one hour since that maintenance. The pilot later stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures and the loss of power was likely the result of a fuel starvation or exhaustion.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors responded to the accident site. They stated that there was no smell of fuel present upon arrival. They further stated that removal of the wings and corresponding fuel lines revealed no evidence of fuel present in the tanks at the time of the accident; the fuel tanks did not appear breached. They opined that the loss of engine power was a result of fuel exhaustion.
CHULA VISTA — A small vintage plane made a touch-and-go landing on a Chula Vista freeway Friday, then flipped upside down onto a hillside more than three miles away, authorities said.
The pilot, 65, suffered a tiny injury to one hand and caused no highway crashes. He was flying alone.
The pilot had taken off from Brown Field in Otay Mesa about 6:20 a.m. in a Stinson SR-9B Reliant and developed engine problems, Chula Vista fire Battalion Chief Chris Manroe said.
Police said the pilot, whose name was not released, was planning to fly to Point Loma and back.
He headed to state Route 125 for a landing strip. Motorists reported to the California Highway Patrol that a small plane had landed in southbound lanes near H Street about 6:45 a.m.
The aircraft briefly touched down, then regained power and took to the air again, police and fire officials said. The pilot tried to make it back to Brown Field, but the engine began failing again.
Minutes later, Chula Vista police got calls reporting that the plane had landed on a hill near Hunt and Eastlake parkways, three miles to the south past homes and schools. The pilot then aimed for a wide open space of dirt and low brush about half a mile east of the freeway, where the two roads deadend.
“He would have made it, but his wheels clipped a hill,” police Capt. Lon Turner said.
The plane landed hard and overturned. The jolt ripped off the front landing gear and caused serious damage to the aircraft.
The pilot was able to crawl out on his own. Paramedics evaluated him and put a small bandage on his hand injury.
He told authorities he had spent considerable time and money restoring the plane.
Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane is registered to John D. Nance of San Diego. The record said the Stinson SR-98 was manufactured in 1941. Authorities did not say whether Nance, 68, was the pilot.
A pilot escaped serious injury when his small plane went down in Chula Vista Friday morning while en route to Brown Field Municipal Airport, ending up down on a hillside.
The Stinson SR-9B Reliant plane was first reported as touching down on state Route 125 south of East H Street after its engine failed around 6:45 a.m., according to a Chula Vista police statement. However, it was gone before authorities arrived.
It went down again shortly afterward on a hillside near the intersection of Eastlake and Hunte parkways, east of state Route 125, and came to a rest upside down, police said.
The plane was substantially damaged in the emergency landing, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
The pilot was seen walking around after setting the aircraft down, police said. No one else was aboard.
The pilot was evaluated at the scene for complaints of pain, but was not taken to a hospital, according to police and fire officials.
FAA records showed the single-engine aircraft was registered to John D. Nance of San Diego, but it was not immediately confirmed if he was at the controls.
Gregor said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the emergency landing.
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