On February 25, 2014, about 1230 Pacific standard time, a Lake LA-4-200 airplane, N1040L, sustained substantial damage during an emergency descent and landing at the Corona Airport (KAJO), Corona, California. The airplane was owned and being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR), personal local flight, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The solo airline transport pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local area flight.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on February 25, the pilot said he had not flown the airplane for about 3 weeks. He stated that his intent was to fly the airplane in the airport traffic pattern, and perform several full stop landings. He said prior to takeoff during the run-up, the engine ran rough on the right magneto. After he leaned the mixture, the problem resolved itself, and he proceeded to complete the pre-takeoff checklist.
After the first takeoff and landing, he proceeded to take off again, climbed to about 800 feet above ground level, and the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he turned back toward the airport, but when he determined he would not make the runway he steered toward an open grassy area on the airport, and prepared the airplane for landing. During landing, he side-loaded the left main landing gear, which collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage.
The pilot said prior to the flight, he had not had any mechanical problems with the airplane. He stated that he did not fuel the airplane prior to the flight, and believed that the tank had been one-quarter full.
On March 19, at the direction of the NTSB IIC, and under the supervision of an FAA air safety inspector, the accident airplane's engine was test run. The airplane was first inspected and found in suitable condition for an engine run. No fuel was added. The airplane has a single central main fuel tank. The tank is conical in shape with the taper at the bottom. The tank configuration results in no unusable fuel, and places the engine pickup and fuel sump drain at the lowest point in the tank. The engine was started per the airplane's checklist, and run with the electric auxiliary fuel pump in both the on and off position. No mechanical anomalies were found during the engine run.