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FTW97FA173

1997-05-03 · ROANOKE, Texas, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 52F

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper descent rate. A factor was the gascolator's filter screen becoming contaminated with fiber glass residue due to the pilot/mechanic's inadequate maintenance.

Factual narrative

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On May 3, 1997, at 1003 central daylight time, a Gowan Long-Ez, N86RG, registered to and operated by the pilot/owner as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Roanoke, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed. The private pilot, sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The flight was originating from the Northwest Regional Airport at the time of the accident. A witness reported during an interview with the investigator-in-charge that he was standing on the ramp in front of North Texas Aero, when he observed the accident aircraft takeoff from runway 35. During the takeoff climb, about halfway down the runway, at approximately 300 feet AGL, the aircraft's engine lost power. The aircraft maintained its takeoff attitude until it neared the end of the runway, and then its "nose dropped." The aircraft hit the ground, bounced across a road and fence, and came to a stop in a field. The pilot reported to the investigator-in-charge and to the FAA inspector that during takeoff, at approximately 100 feet AGL, after retracting the landing gear, he noticed the fuel pressure was zero. About two or three seconds later the engine lost power, and he reduced the throttle in an attempt to regain fuel pressure. He maintained a "nose high attitude for a continuous flare" so he wouldn't "hit the ground" with a high airspeed. He then attempted to lower the landing gear, but the aircraft "landed hard" before the landing gear was fully extended. He does not remember the aircraft's nose dropping after the loss of engine power.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The private pilot was also a certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic. He built the airplane and performed the required maintenance on it.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The Long-EZ is a two-place, high performance airplane with a canard wing, and the rudders are on the winglets located at the tips of both main wings. The aircraft was built from plans, and its airframe is primarily constructed of fiberglass composite material. The pilot started construction of the aircraft in 1985, and its construction was completed in 1987. In 1993, the original Lycoming engine was replaced with a R6 Mazda rotary engine. The airplane has tricycle landing gear, and it is normally constructed with only the nose landing gear retractable; however, in 1995 it was modified to also retract the main landing gear. According to an expert on the Long-EZ, following a loss of engine power, you must maintain flying airspeed just like a regular airplane, otherwise the canard will stall. When the canard stalls the aircraft's nose will drop 10 to 30 degrees. After the canard stalls, if the control stick is kept fully aft and flying airspeed is regained, the nose of the aircraft will rise. A review of the airframe and engine records did not reveal any anomalies or uncorrected maintenance defects. The aircraft had a total time since new of 906.3 hours. The aircraft's last condition inspection was completed on June 26, 1996, and time flown since the inspection was approximately 30 hours.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The aircraft came to rest in a field on a measured magnetic heading of 010 degrees, 170 feet from the initial ground scar. Examination of the aircraft revealed the left vertical stabilizer was fractured at the wing attachment point, and its rudder was fractured. The right wing sustained leading edge damage and the aircraft's nose was partially separated. The two main landing gear were folded under the aircraft, and the nose landing gear was sheared off. One propeller blade was broken off near the hub and the other blade was not damaged. Control continuity was established to all flight controls. Both fuel tanks had useable fuel, and fuel was found in the main fuel line to the engine. The propeller was removed and the engine was started. There were no anomalies noted during two subsequent engine runs. The aircraft's gascolator was examined on May 6, 1997, by the FAA inspector at the direction of the investigator-in-charge. The examination revealed that the gascolator was one quarter full of a gray matter, which was identified by the pilot/builder as fiber glass. According to the pilot/builder, the gascolator is an old style with a ceramic filter screen. The aircraft has wet wing fuel tanks. The pilot stated that about 10 hours prior to the accident, he made a modification to enlarge the main landing gear wheel wells. This modification required an adjustment of each wing's fuel tank. The pilot reported to the investigator-in-charge that following the wing tank modification, he flushed the fuel tanks three times; however, he "did not shake the wings," and he thinks that the fuel tank baffling retained some of the fiber glass material. He also reported that he had not checked the gascolator for contamination since making the modification.

ADDITIONAL DATA

The aircraft was released to the owner. Approximately 100 feet AGL, after retracting the landing gear, the pilot noticed the fuel pressure was zero. About two to three seconds later the engine lost power, and he reduced the throttle in an attempt to regain fuel pressure. He maintained a 'nose high attitude for a continuous flare' so he wouldn't 'hit the ground' with a high airspeed. He then attempted to lower the landing gear; however, the aircraft landed hard before the landing gear was fully extended. The aircraft bounced across a road and fence, and came to a stop in a field. Examination of the gascolator revealed that it was one quarter full of a gray matter, which was identified by the pilot/builder as fiber glass. About 10 hours prior to the accident, the pilot made a modification to the main landing gear wheel wells. The aircraft has wet wing fuel tanks. The pilot flushed the fuel tanks three times; however, he 'did not shake the wings,' and he thinks that the fuel tank baffling retained some of the fiber glass material. He had not checked the gascolator since making the modification. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1997_FTW97FA173.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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