Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ridgeview, South Dakota 57652
Tuesady, May 24, 1994 9:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial pilot said he was flying aerial application swath runs and shortly after he changed the fuel selector from the right to the left tank the engine lost power. He turned on the fuel boost pump but the engine did not recover. He made a forced landing into a wooded area. Inspection of the fuel system disclosed no evidence of preimpact anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fuel starvation due to the pilot's improper fuel tank selection.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/1994
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City RIDGEVIEW
Event State SOUTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 57652
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1248 GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID PIR
Elevation of weather observation facility 1742
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 47
Time Zone of the weather observation GMT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Overcast
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 45
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 791
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 24 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5296W
NTSB Number CHI94DTK01
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name WEATHERLY
Aircraft Model 620
Aircraft Series Identifier 620
Aircraft Serial Number 1501
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 7 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45
Airframe Hours 3732
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DUANE JACOB KRAFT
Aircraft Owner Street Address BOX 321
Aircraft Owner City TIMBER LAKE
Aircraft Owner State SD
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 57656
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name TERRY GROSS
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address TIMBER LAKE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
Operator City TIMBER LAKE
Operator State SD
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 57656
Operator Code TERG
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code D58
Departure City TIMBER LAKE
Departure State SD
Departure Country
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone MDT
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --