Luscombe 8A N28864

Summary

On 11 July 2015 at about 12:15 local time, a Luscombe 8A registered N28864, operated by Simpson V David, was involved in an accident near Mount Dora, Florida, 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

11 July 2015 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Mount Dora, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Mid Florida Air Service (X55)

Coordinates

28.8350, -81.6286

Aircraft

Luscombe 8A

Registration

N28864

Category

Airplane

Year built

1940

Engines

1

Operator

Simpson V David

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Dora → Mount Dora

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA265

Nobody was injured.

Excessive particulate contamination in the fuel tank, which resulted in the interruption of the fuel flow to the engine and a partial loss of power. The source of the contamination could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during the initial climb for the local, instructional flight with the student pilot/owner at the controls, the engine began to lose power. The flight instructor assumed the controls and attempted a forced landing on a road in a residential area. During the forced landing, the left wing struck a tree, and the airplane then came to rest upright, which resulted in structural damage to the airframe. During postaccident examination, dark, granular sediment was found inside the fuel tank, and it was of sufficient quantity to interrupt fuel flow to the engine. The airplane had been stored outside; it could not be determined how, or when, the granular contamination was introduced into the fuel tank. An examination of the engine and fuel system revealed evidence of some leakage around the carburetor, and the cylinders around the exhaust valves showed signatures consistent with operation at high exhaust gas temperatures. Examination of the fuel tank revealed that it contained automotive gasoline (auto gas). The student pilot believed that the use of auto gas was permitted; however, no supplemental type certificate (STC) for the use of auto gas existed, and the airplane was not placarded for auto gas use. The auto gas also might have contained ethanol, which was not permitted with or without an STC for auto gas use.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.