Luscombe 8E N2638K

Summary

On 1 May 1999 at about 12:40 local time, a Luscombe 8E registered N2638K was involved in an accident near Conroe, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 May 1999 at 12:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Conroe, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.3197, -95.4705

Aircraft

Luscombe 8E

Registration

N2638K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lafayette → Austin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA128

1 person was seriously injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of a blocked fuel vent. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While at a cruise altitude of 3,500 feet msl, the pilot observed a fuel flow fluctuation, and the experimental airplane's engine lost power. The pilot was unable to restart the turboprop engine and prepared for a forced landing to a road. During the forced landing, about 100 feet agl, the pilot initiated a turn in order to see the traffic on the road. As the airplane crossed the road, 'the left wingtip and left main gear contacted the asphalt road, very hard.' The airplane came to rest upright in a ditch, which paralleled the road. Examination of the fuel system by the pilot revealed a caterpillar was lodged in the forward facing vent to the right wing fuel tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.