Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73085
Sunday, October 18, 1998 10:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The engine lost power soon after departing from runway 35 at an altitude of 400 to 500 feet AGL. The pilot was aware during the preflight inspection that the left main fuel cell was 3/4 full and the right tank was very low on fuel. Prior to takeoff, the pilot inadvertently switched the fuel selector to the right fuel tank. The pilot assumed that the engine had malfunctioned and did not switch the fuel selector to the fullest tank. The 400 hour pilot landed the airplane in an open pasture with the landing gear extended. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a terrace, collapsing the landing gear. According to local law enforcement personnel that responded to the accident site, the pilot reported that 'the airplane ran out of fuel;' however, the left main fuel cell was approximately 3/4 full. The pilot added that the 1959 vintage airplane was equipped with a single fuel gauge controlled by a two-position toggle switch for both fuel cells.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as result of the pilot's improper placement of the fuel tank selector switch. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the pilot to execute the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/18/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City OKLAHOMA CITY
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73085
Event Date Year 1998
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 953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID PWA
Elevation of weather observation facility 1190
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 783
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 18 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1215
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6534B
NTSB Number FTW99LA010
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 Mooney
Aircraft Model M20A
Aircraft Series Identifier M20A
Aircraft Serial Number 1203
Certified Max Gross Weight 2600
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 Aug 30 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1396
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARIANNE C. TURNER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 13101 NORTH COUNTY LINE RD.
Aircraft Owner City YUKON
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73099
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 HSD
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 950
Departure Time Zone CST
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 Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
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 --