Grass Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grass Valley, California 95945
Saturday, July 22, 2006 18:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On the pilot's second attempted takeoff, the engine lost power and the airplane overran the runway surface. The temperature was 96 degrees Fahrenheit, and the density altitude was calculated to be 6,273 feet mean sea level. The pilot was planning on making a local flight in the airplane to verify its performance. On the first takeoff attempt, the pilot aborted the takeoff due to loss of available engine power. He landed the airplane on the runway and taxied back to the run-up area to attempt another takeoff. He conducted another run-up at full power and noted no anomalies. During the second takeoff attempt, the airplane climbed to 60 feet and the engine lost power. The pilot force-landed the airplane on the remaining runway, the airplane overran the surface and encountered rough terrain. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector performed an inspection and test-run of the engine following the accident and found no operational anomalies. A condition known as vapor lock can occur when the engine heats the fuel lines and the contained fuel becomes a vapor. This tendency is increased if the fuel in the tank is warm, commonly as a result of high atmospheric temperatures. The fuel vapor can result in partial or complete interruption of fuel flow to the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of available engine power due to vapor lock. A contributing factor was the high temperature.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/22/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1830
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Grass Valley
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95945
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 391316N
Event Location Longitude 1210007W
Event Location Airport Grass Valley
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KGOO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3152
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1830 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KGOO
Elevation of weather observation facility 3152
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21143
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 31 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 26 2007 9:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SAC-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2115R
NTSB Number LAX06LA251
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7916287
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 5069
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gregory Goodknight
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Nevada City
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95959
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Gregory Goodknight
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Nevada City
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95959
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KGOO
Departure City Nevada County
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1830
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 12 2007 5:04PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 4350
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --