Skip to content

LAX91LA229

1991-05-24 · MINDEN, Nevada, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MEV

Current FAA registration · N503V

Make / Model
GLASER-DIRKS DG-500M
Year of manufacture
1990 · 1 years old at event
Engine
BOMBARDIER ROTAX (ALL)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20140702
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A646F0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

AN ENGINE FAILURE PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THE PILOT IMPROPERLY ADJUSTING THE CARBURETOR MIXTURE JET.

Factual narrative

THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT AND A PASSENGER WERE DEPARTING IN A MOTORIZED GLIDER ON THE THIRD FLIGHT OF THE DAY FOR A PERSONAL FLIGHT IN THE LOCAL AREA. THE GLIDER'S ENGINE IS A MODIFIED SNOW MOBILE DESIGN AND IS STOWABLE. AT ABOUT 150 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT MANEUVERED THE GLIDER TOWARD AN EMERGENCY LANDING AREA. DURING THE LANDING, THE EMPENNAGE STRUCK THE EDGE OF A DITCH, SEVERING THE TAIL ASSEMBLY. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. AFTER THE FIRST FLIGHT, THE PILOT ADJUSTED THE ENGINE CARBURETOR MAIN AND IDLE JETS TO A LEAN FUEL/AIR MIXTURE. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED A HOLE IN THE TOP OF ONE OF THE CYLINDER PISTONS. THE CARBURETOR MIXTURE IS SET AT THE FACTORY AND IS ONLY TO BE ADJUSTED BY TRAINED PERSONNEL OR AN AVIATION MECHANIC. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_LAX91LA229.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure). All research papers