Prescott Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prescott, Arizona 86301
Friday, July 4, 1997 11:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft was entering the airport for runway 21 when the tower cleared him to land on runway 30 instead. The pilot said he attempted to add power to extend his approach when the engine seemed to drop to idle. In an attempt to land on runway 21 he extended his landing gear but touched down approximately 60 feet short of the runway. The pilot stated he had 45 gallons of fuel in the airplane before takeoff. It was determined during the postcrash aircraft examination that the fuel selector had no noticeable detent when it was moved from position to position. Additionally, the placards were not legible on the fuel selector. There was no visible fuel found in the left auxiliary tank, and only a trace in the right auxiliary tank. A stick test determined that there was approximately 4 inches of fuel in the right and left main tank. During the postaccident examination of the engine, there were no abnormalities found that would have prevented the engine from being run.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper placement of the unmarked fuel selector valve to off which resulted in fuel starvation. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in this model aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City PRESCOTT
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86301
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PRESCOTT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PRC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 210
Airport Elevation 5042
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1130 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PRC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5042
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 65
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1182
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1115
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N70EC
NTSB Number LAX97LA238
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 Bellanca
Aircraft Model 17-30
Aircraft Series Identifier 17-30
Aircraft Serial Number 30193
Certified Max Gross Weight 3325
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 Nov 1 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CLYDE F. BROUGHTON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1336 MEDALLION STREET
Aircraft Owner City REDLANDS
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92374
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 2L3
Departure City QUARTZSITE
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PRC
Destination City
Destination State AZ
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 21
Runway Length 7616
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --