An amateur built airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with a fence and terrain during a forced landing after takeoff following a loss of engine power encountered on initial climbout. about 300 feet above ground level. The throttle body injector (TBI) was shipped back to the manufacturer to be re-built. That unit was recalled 12 years earlier. The pilot was not aware of the recall at the time of the accident. The TBI manufacturer stated that "during the bench check of its regulator cracking pressure and idle setting, it was determined that the inlet control valve was stuck in the closed position, a condition not unusual for a unit which had been run on automotive fuel, or one that has been stored for a period of time with standing fuel inside. Additionally the idle needle valve was found to be fully closed. When the regulator cover was removed to free the inlet control ball, water stains were observed over a large sector of the control diaphragm. Removal of the inlet fuel screen revealed that it too had experienced substantial long term water contamination some time in its past." The TBI was reassembled and test run. The manufacturer stated, "Data readings of fuel flow and airflow obtained during this test were plotted to reveal a metering curve indistinguishable from a new EFS-2."

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

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