NTSB FTW88DRG04 — 1987-12-19 · HARLINGEN, Texas, United States

N8575 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (DJI AGRAS T100), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N8575 MBB 109 Fatal

Factual narrative

THE SET OF FLOATS WHICH ALLOWS A HIGH FUEL FLOW IN THIS CARBURETOR FOR HIGH POWER SETTINGS USED FOR TAKEOFF, CLIMB, ETC., HAD CRACKED AND SWOLLEN TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THEY WERE RUBBING AGAINST THE FLOAT CHAMBER WALLS AND FLOAT CHAMBER SHROUD TUBES. THIS INTERFERENCE PREVENTED ADEQUATE FUEL FLOW FOR HIGH POWER OPERATION OF THE ENGINE DURING THE TAKEOFF CLIMB WHICH TERMINATED IN THE ACCIDENT. THERE WERE NO ENTRIES IN THE MAINTENANCE LOGS WHICH INDICATED ANY MAINTENANCE OR INTERNAL EXAMINATION OF THE CARBURETOR SINCE THE AIRCRAFT WAS NEW (1959). Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_FTW88DRG04.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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