Johnson County Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Olathe, Kansas 66061
Friday, January 17, 1997 12:46 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in the flare for landing when the tower told the pilot, ' you are not going to make it; go around.' The pilot applied full throttle and established a climb attitude. The pilot then noticed the airplane yaw to the left. The pilot applied full right rudder, turned into the right engine and verified that the right engine was at full power. 'The airplane was not climbing and was continuing to yaw to the left.' The airplane continued its turn to the left and began to descend. The pilot elected to put the airplane down in a field sort of some houses. The airplane slid across the field, struck some trees, and airplane spun around before coming to a stop. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the left engine fuel selector switch was in the OFF position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot improperly selecting the 'off' position on the left engine fuel selector valve, his failure to verify the fuel selector valve's proper position prior to landing, and his inability to obtain best rate-of-climb single-engine speed.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/17/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1246
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City OLATHE
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 66061
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JOHNSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OJC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 1096
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1248 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID OJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 1096
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1200
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 17 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:05PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N44BP
NTSB Number CHI97LA055
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model D95A
Aircraft Series Identifier D95A
Aircraft Serial Number TD-578
Certified Max Gross Weight 4200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class Unknown
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 29 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 187
Airframe Hours 5355
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TRAVEL AIR VENTURES, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2316 BAYNARD BLVD
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19802
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JAMES SEAN GATCHELL
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1808 WIMBLETON DRIVE
Operator City BEDFORD
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 76021
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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 FLV
Departure City LEAVENWORTH
Departure State KS
Departure Country
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code OJC
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
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 18
Runway Length 4099
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --