N438Y

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 2, 2016, about 0915 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Nokes Matthew Lancair IV P, N438Y, made a forced landing, and collided with a parked car on the shoulder of Interstate 15 near Fallbrook, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot and his wife/ passenger sustained serious injuries; one occupant of the car sustained fatal injuries, and the other three occupants sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego, California, about 0900 en route to French Valley Airport, Murrieta/Temecula, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

A private pilot witness was in the airplane pit area at the paved Palomar RC (remote control) Flyers flying strip northeast of the intersection of Interstate 15 (I-15) and Highway 76. He heard the airplane, and looked behind him toward Highway 76. He observed an airplane flying at an estimated 75 feet above ground level or a little higher as it crossed the landing field at a very low power setting. He thought that it may be at idle, but sounded to be running smoothly. The airplane seemed to be somewhat paralleling I-15, but over their field. It continued descending around the trees and toward the freeway. It went out of sight, but the landing gear and flaps were up. The airplane appeared to him to be at the perfect attitude and very under control to get the maximum glide distance. He estimated that the speed of the airplane was 60 to 75 mph. Even when the airplane descended around the trees and out of his view, it appeared to be well under control.

Another witness at the strip estimated the altitude over the strip at 100 feet with the engine at idle and the propeller turning. The landing gear and flaps were up. Just before the airplane reached large trees between the strip and the freeway, the airplane went into a right bank, and missed the trees. It continued descending to I-15 until it went out of sight. He did not hear the airplane impact the ground or any other vehicle.

The pilot stated that the engine lost power, and he considered landing on a short 550-foot remote controlled aircraft strip. He intended to land with the landing gear in the up position to shorten the landing distance; however, he was concerned about flipping over when running off the end of the runway. He observed numerous people on and near the runway, and decided to land on the freeway.

Witnesses on I-15 observed the airplane land, and contact the car. One noted that the landing gear was up. The pilot's wife/passenger stated that one person was trying to help her out, and told her that there was a lot of gasoline, and she had to move. Some witnesses helped the pilot and his passenger out of the airplane; they did not report a strong odor of fuel, or observe a large pool of liquid. One witness, who arrived before the fire department, smelled fuel, and estimated that 10 gallons of liquid was on the pavement. The pilot provided a photo that showed two streams of fluid on the highway, but the quantity and type of fluid could not be determined. One witness stated that he did not fear for his safety. The first arriving Fire Chief Officer on scene reported that he observed a small spot of unknown fluid coming from the fuselage area by the wing that expanded out about 5 feet by 5 feet. Another fire department person noted enough liquid to dampen the soil near the cockpit, however he couldn't tell if this was fuel or water from a fire hose that was nearby. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 62-year-old pilot reported that he held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. The pilot held a third-class medical certificate issued on August 18, 2015. It had the limitation that the pilot must wear corrective lenses. He had a Statement of Demonstrated Disability (SODA) 30D09235 dated October 9, 1992, for no useful vision in the left eye. The SODA was issued on October 21, 1992, after the pilot successfully completed a medical flight test.

The pilot held a Repairman Experimental Aircraft Builder certificate.

The pilot reported that he had a total flight time of 4,750 hours, and had logged 0 hours in the previous 90 days. He reported 1,200 hours in this make and model. He completed a flight review on November 11, 2015. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe four-seat low-wing retractable-gear airplane, serial number LIV-298, had an original special airworthiness certificate issued on January 29, 2000. A special airworthiness certificate was issued to the pilot/current owner on February 2, 2010. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicated that the registration on the airplane was issued on February 2, 2010, with an expiration date of December 31, 2013. The registration and airworthiness certificate were not identified in the wreckage. Maintenance logbooks were not located.

The pilot reported that the airplane had a total airframe time of 350 hours at the most recent condition inspection in November 2015.

The engine was a Continental Motors Inc. (CMI) TSIO-550E, serial number 803031. The pilot reported that the total time recorded on the engine at the most recent condition inspection was 350 hours.

The pilot stated that there were no unresolved maintenance issues prior to the flight, and no issues were detected during start, taxi, run-up, or takeoff.

Fueling records at Jet Air Systems, El Cajon, California, established that the airplane was fueled on April 1, 2016, with the addition of 5.0 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. The pilot stated that the previous flight was in March 2016, and was a 1.25 hour round robin. He explained that the airplane had an auxiliary fuel tank on the belly that he had installed after purchasing the airplane; it was plumbed in with the left wing tank. The left wing tank had a placard on the filler cap indicating 75 US gallons; the right wing tank had a placard on the filler cap indicating 52 US gallons. The filler ports were near the outboard end of each wing. The pilot stated that the 75 gallons meant that he had a 10 gallon reserve when the left tank and the belly tank were full. As fuel was added, he knew that the center tank was full (33 gallons) when the left fuel gauge began to indicate. He confirmed that he had 5 gallons of fuel added to the left wing tank on April 1, and he observed 1 gallon on the left fuel tank gauge. He stated that there was still an indication of 1 gallon when he started the engine for the accident flight, and that there were 34 gallons of fuel on board. There was no fuel quantity gauge for the belly tank, and one was not required; there was no provision to visually or manually quantify the amount of fuel in the tank. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONAn automated surface weather observation at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Air Station (KNFG), Oceanside, California (elevation 78 feet msl, 10 miles southwest of the accident site) was issued at 0854 PDT. It indicated wind from 180 degrees at 3 knots, 5 miles visibility with haze, sky clear, temperature 13 degrees C, dew point 09 degrees C, and an altimeter setting at 30.18 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe four-seat low-wing retractable-gear airplane, serial number LIV-298, had an original special airworthiness certificate issued on January 29, 2000. A special airworthiness certificate was issued to the pilot/current owner on February 2, 2010. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicated that the registration on the airplane was issued on February 2, 2010, with an expiration date of December 31, 2013. The registration and airworthiness certificate were not identified in the wreckage. Maintenance logbooks were not located.

The pilot reported that the airplane had a total airframe time of 350 hours at the most recent condition inspection in November 2015.

The engine was a Continental Motors Inc. (CMI) TSIO-550E, serial number 803031. The pilot reported that the total time recorded on the engine at the most recent condition inspection was 350 hours.

The pilot stated that there were no unresolved maintenance issues prior to the flight, and no issues were detected during start, taxi, run-up, or takeoff.

Fueling records at Jet Air Systems, El Cajon, California, established that the airplane was fueled on April 1, 2016, with the addition of 5.0 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. The pilot stated that the previous flight was in March 2016, and was a 1.25 hour round robin. He explained that the airplane had an auxiliary fuel tank on the belly that he had installed after purchasing the airplane; it was plumbed in with the left wing tank. The left wing tank had a placard on the filler cap indicating 75 US gallons; the right wing tank had a placard on the filler cap indicating 52 US gallons. The filler ports were near the outboard end of each wing. The pilot stated that the 75 gallons meant that he had a 10 gallon reserve when the left tank and the belly tank were full. As fuel was added, he knew that the center tank was full (33 gallons) when the left fuel gauge began to indicate. He confirmed that he had 5 gallons of fuel added to the left wing tank on April 1, and he observed 1 gallon on the left fuel tank gauge. He stated that there was still an indication of 1 gallon when he started the engine for the accident flight, and that there were 34 gallons of fuel on board. There was no fuel quantity gauge for the belly tank, and one was not required; there was no provision to visually or manually quantify the amount of fuel in the tank. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONRefer to the on-site examination report included in the public docket for further details.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) and inspectors from the FAA examined the wreckage on site.

The first identified point of c...