Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hudson, Colorado 80642
Thursday, March 6, 1997 16:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said he last flew the airplane 5 days before the accident. On that day, the airplane had been fueled to capacity, then he flew for 1.5 hours. For the accident flight, the pilot estimated he had no less than 38 gallons of fuel on board (20 gallons in the fuselage tank and 18 gallons in the two wing tanks). The pilot said that although he did not visually check the fuel tanks prior to takeoff, the fuel gauges indicated all fuel tanks were full. Shortly after takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing in a plowed field, and the airplane was substantially damaged. When the pilot removed the right wing fuel cap, he saw no evidence of fuel in the tank. The fuselage tank was full. Fuel from the fuselage tank can be introduced into the main fuel supply by opening the fuel transfer valve. Activating the boost pump will accelerate the process. The pilot said he turned on the boost pump but did not have sufficient time to open the fuel transfer valve.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total power loss due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane and its fuel system. Factors include: the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, the improper fuel tank selector position that would not allow fuel transfer from the fuselage tank to the wing tanks, and the rough, uneven, and soft terrain on which the forced landing was made.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/6/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1600 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | HUDSON |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 80642 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1700 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DEN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5431 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 14 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| 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) | 15 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 110 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 6592 |
| 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 | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 56 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 6 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N800PS |
| NTSB Number | FTW97LA118 |
| 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 | Ryan |
| Aircraft Model | NAVION A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | NAVION A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | NAV 4-1502 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2750 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 29 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5 |
| Airframe Hours | 2333 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JOHN S. LEIBY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 222 MILWAUKEE ST., STE. 207 |
| Aircraft Owner City | DENVER |
| Aircraft Owner State | CO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 80206 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 61365 |
| Operator City | DENVER |
| Operator State | CO |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 80206 |
| 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 | CO12 |
| Departure City | BRIGHTON |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1550 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| 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 | 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 | -- |