Amateur-built LONG-EZ accident near Los Angeles, California, May 7, 1995
On May 7, 1995 at about 7:51 pm local time, a amateur-built LONG-EZ, registered N41BF, was destroyed in an accident near Los Angeles, California (Santa Monica Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
fuel starvation due to a modification of the fuel system that rendered it incapable of maintaining adequate fuel pressure. The builder/pilot's lack of understanding of the fuel system was a factor in this accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 1995 · about 7:51 pm local time
- Place
- Los Angeles, California · Santa Monica Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built LONG-EZ
- Registration
- N41BF · registry record · serial 92
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER BEING CLEARED FOR A FLYBY, THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED OVER THE RUNWAY AT 20 TO 30 FEET AGL. A FEW SECONDS LATER, THE PILOT DECLARED AN ENGINE FAILURE. THE AIRCRAFT MADE A LEFT TURN SOUTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT STRIKING OVERHEAD ELECTRICAL LINES, SEVERING THE RIGHT WING, ROLLING RIGHT, AND CRASHING INTO A RESIDENCE. A POSTACCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE ELECTRIC FUEL BOOST PUMP AND THE MECHANICAL ENGINE- DRIVEN FUEL PUMP HAD BOTH BEEN REMOVED. THE DESIGNER HAD PREVIOUSLY TESTED A GRAVITY FUEL SYSTEM AND FOUND IT UNACCEPTABLE, SINCE THE HEIGHT OF THE FUEL TANKS ABOVE THE CARBURETOR DID NOT PROVIDE A SUFFICIENT FUEL PRESSURE. CONSTRUCTION PLANS STATED THAT THE FUEL SYSTEM IS 'DESIGNED TO REQUIRE TWO FUEL PUMPS', AND THAT THESE TWO FUEL PUMPS ARE A 'MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR SAFE OPERATION, AND THAT THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE WAY AROUND THIS REQUIREMENT.' THE REQUIREMENT WAS REITERATED IN THE JULY, 1980, ISSUE OF THE CANARD PUSHER NEWSLETTER. THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT FOLLOWING THE REMOVAL OF BOTH FUEL PUMPS BY THE PILOT/OWNER.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,130 hours in all; 230 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 1,057 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 221 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,425 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SMO Santa Monica CA at 7:47 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 4,987 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:46 pm from SMO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.