Cawood FISHER CLASSIC N485AJ

Summary

On 1 June 1998 at about 22:30 local time, a Cawood FISHER CLASSIC registered N485AJ was involved in an accident near Abingdon, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 June 1998 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Abingdon, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Virginia Highlands (VJI)

Coordinates

36.7693, -82.0295

Aircraft

Cawood FISHER CLASSIC

Registration

N485AJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98LA121

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight of the airplane which resulted in water contamination of the fuel system. A factor was the location of the fuel tank's sump.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The homebuilt departed the runway and was climbing through 200 feet (AGL) when the pilot started a gentle turn to reverse course. Halfway through the turn the engine lost power. The pilot completed the course reversal, but was unable to maneuver to a suitable landing area because of limited attitude and airspeed, and the airplane collided with a track hoe. Water was found in both carburetors and main fuel screen. According to the pilot/builder, the position of the fuel tank sump required the airplane to be in a level attitude in order to completely drain water from the tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.