N6552L

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 14, 2015, about 1127 central daylight time, a Grumman American Aviation Corporation AA-5 single-engine airplane, N6552L, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, Texas. The private pilot sustained serious injuries, and his passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which was originating at the time of the accident.

On the morning of the accident, the pilot and his aviation mechanic were at the airport to complete an annual inspection of the airplane. Although the pilot was an automotive mechanic, he reported that he did not participate significantly during the annual inspection. He recalled that the mechanic removed several inspection panels to observe the flight control system; verified operation of an avionic device that was installed in the rear fuselage; completed a compression check of each engine cylinder; removed, inspected, and replaced some spark plugs; and drained/replaced the engine oil. Additionally, the pilot recalled that the mechanic collected a fuel sample from at least one drain on the left wing. The pilot stated that the airplane had four fuel drains (two per wing); however, he could not recall if the mechanic had obtained a fuel sample from all four drains during the annual inspection. Additionally, he did not recall if the mechanic had examined the auxiliary electrical fuel pump, drained the pump reservoir, or inspected the pump filter screen. The pilot estimated that the annual inspection took a couple of hours to complete.

After completing the annual inspection, the pilot and his mechanic decided to conduct a local flight in the airport traffic pattern. The pilot stated that he completed his normal preflight inspection of the airplane, which included obtaining fuel samples from all four fuel drains. He did not recall seeing any water or particulate contamination in the fuel samples that he collected. He stated that the left wing tank was nearly full, with about 19 gallons of fuel, and that the right wing tank contained 2 to 4 gallons of fuel. The pilot did not add any fuel to the airplane before the flight. The pilot stated that he did not observe any anomalies with the airplane during his preflight inspection. The pilot completed an engine runup before he taxied from the ramp to runway 14. He stated that the engine developed maximum static rpm during the engine runup and both magnetos were functioning correctly. Additionally, he observed normal fuel and oil pressures and a normal oil temperature.

The pilot did not recall all portions of the accident flight. He remembered that the engine lost power shortly after takeoff from runway 14, and he had a brief memory of the airplane pointing nose-down toward the ground. However, he did not recall any corrective actions that he made following the loss of engine power or the airplane impacting terrain. His next full memory was when he awoke at the hospital during his recovery. The pilot reported that, while he was being treated at the hospital, he had apparently told his wife that the engine had lost power shortly after takeoff and that he had pushed the nose down to regain airspeed.

There were no witnesses to the accident. The wreckage was located by the property owner about 1245. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONAccording to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the 51-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. The pilot's most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on May 22, 2014, with the limitations that he was prohibited from flying at night and by color signal control due to color blindness. A search of FAA records showed no previous accidents, incidents, or enforcement proceedings.

The pilot's flight experience was established using his pilot logbook. The final logbook entry was dated November 15, 2014, at which time he had accumulated 214.1 hours total flight time. The entirety of his logged flight experience was in single-engine airplanes. The pilot had accumulated 34.6 hours in the accident airplane make/model. Although the pilot had flown 33.4 hours during the 12 months before the accident, he had not flown during the 6 months before the accident. The pilot's last flight review, as required by 14 CFR 61.65, was completed on June 13, 2014, in the accident airplane. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a 1974 Grumman American Aviation Corporation AA-5, Traveler, serial number AA5-0652. The airplane was a single-engine, low-wing, monoplane of conventional aluminum construction. The airplane was powered by a 150-horsepower, 4-cylinder Lycoming O-320-E2G reciprocating engine, serial number L-38674-27A. The engine provided thrust through a fixed-pitch, two-blade, McCauley IC172/SBTM7359 propeller, serial number E18709. The airplane was equipped with a fixed, tricycle landing gear and could seat the pilot and three passengers. The airplane had a maximum allowable takeoff weight of 2,200 pounds. The FAA issued the airplane a standard category airworthiness certificate on October 8, 1974.

The airplane's recording tachometer meter indicated 7,846.59 hours at the accident site. According to maintenance documentation, the original recording tachometer had been replaced, and the current tachometer indicated 814 hours more than the actual accumulated airframe and engine time. Based on postaccident calculations, the airframe and engine had accumulated a total service time of 7,032.59 hours. The engine had accumulated 492.59 hours since the last major overhaul completed on August 2, 2000. According to the maintenance logbooks, the last documented annual inspection was on May 10, 2014, at 7,010 total airframe hours. The pilot reported that an annual inspection had been completed immediately before the accident flight; however, the maintenance logbooks did not contain an entry for the annual inspection or any work associated with the inspection. A postaccident review of the maintenance records found no history of unresolved airworthiness issues.

The airplane fuel system consisted of two fuel tanks located immediately outboard of each wing root fairing, two smaller sump tanks located within each wing root fairing, an engine-driven mechanical fuel pump, an auxiliary electric fuel pump, a selector valve, and fuel gauges. The total fuel capacity of each fuel tank was 19 gallons, with ½ gallon of unusable fuel in each tank. Fuel from the fuel tanks was piped to the sumps before being directed to the selector valve and fuel pumps. The mechanical fuel pump transferred fuel from the tanks to the carburetor during normal operations. The auxiliary electric fuel pump supplemented the engine-driven pump and was used to provide fuel pressure redundancy during low altitude operations, such as during takeoff and landing. The auxiliary electric fuel pump incorporated a screen filter that could be removed for inspection and cleaning. The airplane was not equipped with a gascolator or a fuel drain in the engine compartment, because the fuel system was sloped downward toward the sumps located within each wing root fairing. As such, the sumps were the lowest point in the fuel system. The fuel system was equipped with four drains; one in each fuel tank, and one in each sump tank. According to the Grumman AA5 Owner's Manual, a fuel sample should be collected from all four drains during preflight to check for fuel contamination. According to the Grumman AA5 Maintenance Manual, during an annual inspection, the auxiliary electric fuel pump should be disassembled and its filter inspected/cleaned, the fuel tanks and sumps inspected, and the engine carburetor bowl drained. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONAt 1115, the T82 automated surface observing system reported wind from 170° at 7 knots; broken ceilings at 2,100 ft above ground level (agl) and 2,700 ft agl; 10 miles surface visibility; temperature 26°C; dew point 21°C; and an altimeter setting of 29.93 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a 1974 Grumman American Aviation Corporation AA-5, Traveler, serial number AA5-0652. The airplane was a single-engine, low-wing, monoplane of conventional aluminum construction. The airplane was powered by a 150-horsepower, 4-cylinder Lycoming O-320-E2G reciprocating engine, serial number L-38674-27A. The engine provided thrust through a fixed-pitch, two-blade, McCauley IC172/SBTM7359 propeller, serial number E18709. The airplane was equipped with a fixed, tricycle landing gear and could seat the pilot and three passengers. The airplane had a maximum allowable takeoff weight of 2,200 pounds. The FAA issued the airplane a standard category airworthiness certificate on October 8, 1974.

The airplane's recording tachometer meter indicated 7,846.59 hours at the accident site. According to maintenance documentation, the original recording tachometer had been replaced, and the current tachometer indicated 814 hours more than the actual accumulated airframe and engine time. Based on postaccident calculations, the airframe and engine had accumulated a total service time of 7,032.59 hours. The engine had accumulated 492.59 hours since the last major overhaul completed on August 2, 2000. According to the maintenance logbooks, the last documented annual inspection was on May 10, 2014, at 7,010 total airframe hours. The pilot reported that an annual inspection had been completed immediately before the accident flight; however, the maintenance logbooks did not contain an entry for the annual inspection or any work associated with the inspection. A postaccident review of the maintenance records found no history of unresolved airworthiness issues.

The airplane fuel system consisted of two fue...