Stearman E75 N770WM

Summary

On 11 October 1998 at about 21:08 local time, a Stearman E75 registered N770WM was involved in an accident near Oakland, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 October 1998 at 21:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Oakland, California, United States

Nearest airport

Oakland (OAK)

Coordinates

37.8100, -122.2390

Aircraft

Stearman E75

Registration

N770WM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA008

1 person had minor injuries.

A loss of engine power due to the pilot's inadvertent entry into a negative 'g' condition, which induced a temporary interruption of the fuel supply.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot completed three banner tow flights in the airplane on the day of the accident. He refueled between the second and third flights. The pilot said the engine ran perfect during takeoff. He started a climb of 30 degrees and at 400 feet he initiated a right 270-degree turn and leveled off. During the level off, power was reduced to 24 inches of manifold pressure. During the turn the pilot heard a pop and the engine stopped producing power. He immediately lowered the nose and headed for the only open area he could see, a concrete pad in a construction area. He pumped the throttle several times and verified the gas was on, but was unable to restart the engine. As the airplane neared the touchdown point, a tractor-trailer truck moved in-between the airplane and the touchdown point and the airplane collided with the truck. The operator observed the takeoff and heard the engine quit. Then he heard several 'blurps' and assumed the pilot was moving the throttle to get the engine to restart. He also noticed fuel coming out of the center section vent line when the nose was lowered and opined that during the pushover to level flight, the pilot entered a negative 'g' condition. No discrepancies were found during examination of the airframe or engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.