N711EW

On August 9, 1997, at 1521 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA24-250, N711EW, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on a city street in Kearny Mesa, a suburb of San Diego, California. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. The flight departed Montgomery Field on a local flight and encountered loss of engine power during the takeoff initial climb. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight.

The pilot stated in his report that the aircraft had a partial power loss at 1,500 feet msl during climbout, followed by a complete loss of power approximately 2 minutes later. At the time of partial power loss, the pilot applied carburetor heat, turned on the electric fuel pump, switched from the left to the right fuel tank, and checked the position of the magneto switch. Following total loss of power, the pilot stated that he made a forced landing on a city street which resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft and minor damage to three parked cars and a bus stop passenger bench.

During the on-site investigation by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors, both fuel tanks were found to contain 100LL aviation fuel, and fuel continuity was established between the fuel tanks and the engine carburetor. After transport to a local hanger, the engine was placed on a test stand where it started and ran normally with no apparent malfunctions. The magneto internal and external timing was then checked and found within the tolerance specified by the manufacturer and there was a spark across the gap of each sparkplug. According to the sparkplug color chart supplied by the engine manufacturer, plug color indicated that the engine had been running with a slightly rich mixture.