Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Battle Ground, Washington 98604
Saturday, November 15, 1997 14:35 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The private pilot removed the fuel selector valve handle assembly and had the placarded backing panel painted. During reinstallation, the pilot improperly placed the handle and pointer 90-degrees counterclockwise from the correct selector valve position. During the accident flight, the handle was placed in the right tank position indication, but the actual valve position was in the fuel shutoff position. The engine was subsequently starved of fuel and quit. The pilot initiated a forced landing onto wooded terrain and was seriously injured. Further exam of the valve revealed that it was improperly inspected by a mechanic, thus eliminating the detent function only. The engine fuel primer was found unlocked. Exam of the engine and airframe did not reveal any other preimpact mechanical discrepancies. The pilot had been denied a medical certificate due to an unexplained history of alcohol abuse. The FAA revoked the pilot's airman certificate for failure to provide blood test results from blood drawn after the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The owner/pilot's failure to properly install the fuel selector valve after removal, subsequently leading to a false indication on the valve selector handle. This led to the pilot unintentionally closing the valve and starving the engine of fuel during the initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/15/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1435 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | BATTLE GROUND |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98604 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| 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 | 1446 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TTD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 35 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 40 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 7 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 70 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 22 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 32 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1736 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 15 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1540 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1668P |
| NTSB Number | SEA98LA014 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-18-150 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-3797 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 15 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 31 |
| Airframe Hours | 1642 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | EVANS, DAVID B. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 27665 NE 212TH AVE. |
| Aircraft Owner City | BATTLE GROUND |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98604 |
| 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 | |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1430 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| 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 | -- |
| 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 | -- |