Amateur-built MARQUART MA-5 accident near Westminster, Maryland, May 15, 1998
On May 15, 1998 at about 5:20 pm local time, a amateur-built MARQUART MA-5, registered N83MC, was destroyed in an accident near Westminster, Maryland (Clearview Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of a fuel line fitting which led to an engine failure and fire. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 15, 1998 · about 5:20 pm local time
- Place
- Westminster, Maryland · Clearview Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MARQUART MA-5 MARQUART M
- Registration
- N83MC · no longer on the register · serial 0191
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff, about 100 feet above the ground, the airplane suffered a complete power loss. The pilot activated the wobble pump, but the engine would not respond. He tried to dissipate airspeed and altitude with skidding S-turns to remain over the runway. The pilot said he then intentionally stalled the airplane because the runway had no overrun, and the terrain dropped sharply, about 100 feet, into a creek and trees. The airplane stalled from about a 30 foot height, impacted left wing, nose down, and came to rest upside down, just off the end of the runway. It was consumed by fire. The pilot said he felt the airplane was on fire in flight, before the crash. Examination revealed the carburetor flexible inlet line had failed at the sleeve fitting.
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: 4,884 hours in all; 27 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 4,794 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 27 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 2, 1998; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,850 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 2W2 at 5:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 1,845 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from KBW, 29 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N83MC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.