Fouga CM 170 N344FM
15 June 1994 · Long Beach, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 15 June 1994 at about 21:57 local time, a Fouga CM 170 registered N344FM was involved in an accident near Long Beach, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 21:57
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Long Beach, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Long Beach (LBG)
- Coordinates
- 33.8292, -118.1798
- Aircraft
- Fouga CM 170
- Registration
- N344FM
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Ferry
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Porterville
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX94FA256
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
A loss of power to both engines due to fuel contamination and, the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during the subsequent emergency, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors in the accident were: 1) the manufacturer's inadequate design of the airplane's fuel system, which does not facilitate fuel sampling during preflight inspections or routine normal maintenance; 2) the lack of a fuel drain valve in the fuel system for fuel sampling purposes.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
A FORMER FRENCH AIRFORCE FOUGA CM 170 JET TRAINER LOST POWER IN BOTH ENGINES AND COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN AFTER TAKEOFF ABOUT 2,000 FEET FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT REPORTED A LANDING GEAR PROBLEM AND REQUESTED CLEARANCE TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT. WITNESSES REPORTED HEARING THE AIRPLANES'S JET ENGINES 'SPOOL DOWN' DURING THE TAKEOFF CLIMB ABOUT 600 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND (AGL). THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO ABOUT 300 FEET AGL WHEN THE LEFT WING DIPPED, FOLLOWED BY THE RIGHT WING DROPPING RAPIDLY. ANOTHER PILOT WHO WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT STATED THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO STALL. THE AIRPLANE THEN DESCENDED UNCONTROLLED, COLLIDING WITH TERRAIN OFF THE AIRPORT BOUNDARY. THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN RECENTLY IMPORTED TO THE UNITED STATES DISASSEMBLED AND DEFUELED. THE DESIGN OF THE AIRCRAFT FUEL SYSTEM DOES NOT ACCOMMODATE PREFLIGHT FUEL SAMPLING FROM THE RUBBER BLADDER FUEL CELLS IN THE FUSELAGE. WATER AND SMALL PARTICLES WERE OBSERVED IN A FUEL SAMPLE DRAINED FROM THE FUEL LINES AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT'S LANDING GEAR WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES ANY TIME ENGINE RPM DROPS BELOW 18,000 RPM AND ANY ONE OF THE THREE LANDING GEAR IS RETRACTED.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Fouga CM-170 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 2010 | Fouga CM 170 MAGISTER | Imperial, California, United States | Reginald Finch | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 1994 | Piper PA-28R-201 | Fort Bragg, California, United States | Sundance Flying Club | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 May 1994 | Schweizer G-164B | Yuba City, California, United States | Sutter Butte Dusters, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 3 Sep 1994 | Cessna T210L | Kettleman City, California, United States | Willie Alves Rodrigues | No injuries | - |
| 13 May 1994 | Maule M-5-235C | Columbia, California, United States | White, James L. | No injuries | - |
| 19 May 1994 | Cessna 150L | Rio Linda, California, United States | Hinckley, Thomas, F. | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 1994 | Robinson R-22 | Chico, California, United States | Sierra Aviation | No injuries | - |