Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burlington, Washington 98223
Tuesady, May 18, 1999 17:19 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot attempted a forced landing after a loss of engine power. While attempting to restart the engine, he overshot the road he had selected for his forced landing, turned, retracted the landing gear, and 'waited for the impact.' After the wreckage was recovered, FAA inspectors ran the engine to 1600 rpm. They also removed the main fuel screen, and found it full of a 'gel-like' substance. The carburetor finger screen had captured some foreign matter, but was not judged to have been blocked. Upon disassembly of the carburetor, foreign material was found blocking the main metering jet orifice, along with some large particles, with a surface area similar to that of a small thumbtack. It could not be determined how those particles bypassed the finger screen. The airplane had been recently painted and then an annual inspection had been performed. The main fuel screen and the safety wire on the main fuel screen were covered with overspray. Fresh safety wire on the carburetor float bowl was consistent with the carburetor float bowl having been drained.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to carburetor contamination. Factors include the pilot's misjudgment of altitude and distance when he performed his forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/18/1999
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1719
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City BURLINGTON
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98223
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 210
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 18 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1755
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6700N
NTSB Number SEA99LA066
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 M-20G
Aircraft Series Identifier M-20G
Aircraft Serial Number 680079
Certified Max Gross Weight 2525
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 Apr 2 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARK S FLITTON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1107 N EIGHTH
Aircraft Owner City MOUNT VERNON
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98273
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 75S
Departure City BURLINGTON
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1610
Departure Time Zone PDT
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 10:35AM
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 --