Cessna 150M N63405

Summary

On 22 August 2001 at about 19:05 local time, a Cessna 150M registered N63405, operated by Joe Diorio, was involved in an accident near Murrietta, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 August 2001 at 19:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Murrietta, California, United States

Nearest airport

French Valley (F70)

Coordinates

33.5691, -117.1402

Aircraft

Cessna 150M

Registration

N63405

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Joe Diorio

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Murrietta → Catalina

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA287

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the muffler assembly causing a fuel line to overheat, resulting in vapor lock, and a subsequent engine failure followed by an emergency landing in rough terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the operator who inspected the airplane and interviewed the instructor, the airplane was topped off with 13.4 gallons of aviation gasoline and placed in the maintenance shop just prior to the flight. The airplane received new tires and was released from the shop. No other maintenance was performed. The airplane departed at 1200 with full fuel tanks, which was 22.5 gallons of useable fuel. The instructor had stated that shortly after takeoff, about 1,000 feet, there was a "popping" sound from the engine followed by a loss of engine power. He repositioned the mixture and throttle controls, but with no effect. He stated that he pitched the airplane to attain best glide speed and initiated a forced landing procedure. The airplane landed in rough terrain and was nosed over. The entire back portion of the muffler was open. There was evidence of sooting and discoloration of the firewall directly behind the left muffler. The fuel input line leading from the gascolator to the carburetor was positioned between the aft end of the left muffler and the firewall. It was approximately 3 inches away from the open end of the muffler and was heated substantially when the back end of the muffler blew off. The heat most likely caused the fuel in the line to vaporize, resulting in vapor lock. The lack of altitude and time did not allow the engine to re-fire after the fuel in the line cooled off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.