Event LAX97LA035

Factual narrative

On November 1, 1996, at 1200 hours Pacific standard time, an Aerostar SA Yak 52, N207YK, collided with an airport building and a perimeter fence during a rejected takeoff attempt at the Fullerton Municipal Airport, Fullerton, California. The rejected takeoff was precipitated by a loss of engine power just after liftoff. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. The flight originated at the time of the accident as a local area test flight. The aircraft is a new production airplane which was manufactured in Romania, then shipped in a crate to the United States. This was the first flight following reassembly of the aircraft. According to the pilot, the aircraft had been run on the ground for 50 minutes and had completed a high speed taxi test. Following liftoff from runway 24, the engine quit as the aircraft reached 50 feet in altitude. The pilot landed on the runway, but had insufficient pavement to stop prior to colliding with a building and a fence at the departure end of the runway. In a telephone interview, the pilot reported that the airplane has a 9-cylinder radial engine with a pressure carburetor. He believed that the carburetor malfunctioned. The aircraft was examined by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Long Beach, California, Flight Standards District Office. The inspector reported that a Russian factory trained technician came from another importer of the aircraft and provided technical assistance. During examination of the airplane, the carburetor was removed from the engine and another serviceable one installed in it's place. The engine was then started and exercised through the normal power range with no problems noted. The technician stated that disassembly of the carburetor requires special tools available only at the factory. The inspector reported that the directions for disassembling the aircraft are used as a checklist/reference for reassembling the aircraft, and that the directions are written only in Russian. The Russian tech from San Diego said that ". . . the factory did not do one or two steps on the checklist." The aircraft was a new production airplane, which was manufactured in Romania, then was disassembled and shipped in a crate to the United States. This was the first flight following reassembly of the aircraft. The aircraft had been run on the ground for 50 minutes, and a high speed taxi test had been completed. Shortly after takeoff, a loss of engine power occurred. The pilot landed on the runway, but insufficient runway was remaining to stop before colliding with a building and a fence at the departure end of the runway. The powerplant was a Russian manufactured 9-cylinder radial engine with a pressure carburetor. The pilot said he believed that the carburetor malfunctioned. The aircraft was examined by an FAA airworthiness inspector with the assistance of a Russian factory trained technician. The carburetor was removed from the engine and a used/serviceable one was installed in its place. The engine was then started and exercised through the normal power range with no problem noted. The technician stated that disassembly of the carburetor required special tools available only at the factory. The inspector reported that the directions for disassembling the aircraft were used as a checklist/reference for reassembling the aircraft, and that the directions were written only in Russian. The Russian technician said that '. . . the factory did not do one or two steps on the checklist.' Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12