Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Deming, New Mexico 88030
Monday, October 20, 1997 12:20 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane had been both hangared and kept outdoors since the summer of 1995. In May 1997, the Deming City Administrator observed the pilot transferring fuel from the sump of a 10,000 gallon fuel storage tank into a fuel truck. The pilot told him that he was bypassing the tank's sump to meet the fixed base operator (FBO) needs (the pilot was also the FBO manager). Approximately one month before the accident, the pilot told an FBO employee that he had drained the airplane's fuel tanks and asked that they be refilled. The employee said he put 14 to 15 gallons of fuel in the airplane (fuel capacity is 26 gallons). On the day of the accident, the pilot found the airplane's battery dead. He hand started the engine and departed for California. The alternator needs at least 3 volts current to energize its magnetic field for electrical power generation. The airplane was last seen flying west at an estimated altitude of 400 to 500 feet agl. The wreckage was found the next day in soft, sandy soil on level terrain, covered by 2 to 5 feet tall brush. Postcrash examination revealed that the flaps were up, and the gascolator and fuel tanks contained a fluid other than aviation fuel.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to fuel contamination. Contributing was unsuitable terrain consisting of high vegetation and sand.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/20/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1220 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | DEMING |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 88030 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| 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 | 1254 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 290 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DMN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4309 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| 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) | 60 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1648 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 21 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1330 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:37PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6206K |
| NTSB Number | FTW98FA024 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 150M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 150M |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15077586 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DONALD G. FARMER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 881 TURNEY DR., PO BOX 2560 |
| Aircraft Owner City | BULLHEAD |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 86430 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | DMN |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1205 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | E60 |
| Destination City | ELOY |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| 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 | -- |