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NYC91LA139

1991-05-23 · CARIBOU, Maine, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FVE

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP, WHICH RESULTED IN A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND SUBSEQUENT FORCED LANDING ON ROUGH TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE DECISION BY THE PILOT TO TAKEOFF WITH KNOWN MECHANICAL DEFICIENCIES; THE PILOT'S HARD LANDING DURING THE FORCED LANDING; AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL AIRPLANE.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING THROUGH 6500 FEET, WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A FIELD, BUT DID NOT FLARE THE AIRPLANE PROPERLY AND HIT THE GROUND VERY HARD. THE ENGINE HAD CAUSED SOME PROBLEMS FOR THE PILOT BEFORE TAKEOFF, BUT HE DETERMINED IT WAS OPERATING SATISFACTORILY, AFTER SEVERAL FULL POWER RUN UPS. THE FAA FOUND THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP WAS MALFUNCTIONING, RESULTING IN FUEL SYSTEM CAVITATION AND EVENTUAL FUEL STARVATION. IT WAS DETERMINED BY THE FAA AND THE MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVES THAT THE AUXILIARY FUEL BOOST PUMP MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO RESTORE FUEL PRESSURE FAST ENOUGH FOR THE PILOT TO RESTART THE ENGINE WHILE EXECUTING THE FORCED LANDING. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS, THE PILOT CONCENTRATED ON THE EMERGENCY LANDING. THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL FLIGHT TIME IN THIS MODEL OF 3.5 HOURS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91LA139.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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