American AA1B N5704L

Summary

On 10 February 2005 at about 00:00 local time, a American AA1B registered N5704L was involved in an accident near Petaluma, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 February 2005 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Petaluma, California, United States

Nearest airport

Petaluma Muni (KO69)

Coordinates

37.2631, -122.6114

Aircraft

American AA1B

Registration

N5704L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Petaluma → Petaluma

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05FA090

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed above the stall speed (Vso) while maneuvering to a landing area that resulted in a stall-spin. Factors in the accident were the fuel starvation induced loss of engine power due to the pilot's fuel system mismanagement, and the mechanical binding of the fuel selector valve due to inadequate maintenance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft stalled, entered a spin, and descended to ground impact following a loss of engine power in the takeoff initial climb. During the climb out following a touch-and-go, the airplane's engine sputtered and backfired. The airplane made a low and tight downwind turn. The airplane paralleled the runway before it pitched nose up and entered a stall, which was followed by a nose down right-hand spin; the airplane then impacted a grass fairway on a golf course adjacent to the airport. Examination of the airframe revealed that the right-hand fuel tank contained very little fuel while the left fuel tank was half full. The fuel selector valve was positioned to the right-hand fuel tank. The carburetor bowl contained 5 milliliters of fuel, which is consistent with fuel starvation. The fuel selector valve handle was separated from the stem post and the fracture surface of the post at the selector handle interface is consistent with bending overload forces that would have occurred during the airframe's collision with terrain and buckling of the instrument panel. The fuel selector valve had not been lubricated in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended servicing instructions, which resulted in binding. The binding caused the fuel valve to require approximately three times the normal force to operate it.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.