History of Flight
On December 27, 2011, about 1530 Pacific standard time, a Ryan Navion, registration N4398K, experienced a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California. The airplane subsequently landed hard on airport property and was substantially damaged. The owner/pilot was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and a passenger were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
Witnesses reported that during takeoff from runway 32R, the airplane reached about 250 to 300 feet above the runway when the engine sounded like it lost power. The airplane was observed making a banking left turn as it descended toward parallel runway 14R.
According to the pilot, as the airplane approached the departure end of runway 32R, the engine quit without warning. Knowing that a safe return to the runway was unlikely at that altitude, he made a left turn away from a busy highway ahead. He then realized he was heading toward a hangar and executed another left turn with added left rudder to avoid it. The pilot lost control of the airplane as it descended to the ground.
The airplane struck the ground in a flat, wings-level attitude and slid approximately 100 feet before coming to rest near the approach end of runway 14R.
Tests and Research
Investigators examined the wreckage at National Aviation Logistics in Madera, California, on January 11, 2012. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. A detailed report with photographs is included in the public docket.
The Ryan Navion's fuel system comprises two aluminum alloy wing tanks, each holding about 20 gallons, and an accumulator tank with about 3/4-gallon capacity mounted in the fuselage center. Fuel is gravity-fed from the main tanks into the accumulator, then supplied to the carburetor by an engine-driven pump. An emergency electric fuel pump provides 12 pounds of fuel pressure for takeoff and landing or if the engine-driven pump fails.
Fuel samples from the wing tanks were blue with no sediment or contamination. A sample from the fuel line to the carburetor inlet screen was light blue and contained debris. The sample from the accumulator sump was brown, contained debris, and tested positive for water.