Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Barstow Dagget Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Baker, California 92309
Thursday, June 8, 2000 10:25 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot collided with a sand dune after making a forced landing on a service road. It was during cruise flight when the pilot had first observed the fluctuation (a drop) on the fuel pressure indicator. He reported the same fluctuation after switching from the left tank to the right another hour into the flight. Activating the electric fuel pump had remedied the situation and it was left on for another hour. The fuel tanks were then switched again and the fuel pump was turned off. About 25 minutes had passed when the pressure dropped to zero and the engine lost power. The pilot tried various engine out procedures and to maneuver the airplane in an effort to get the engine to run, but his attempts to restart were unsuccessful. He had been receiving radar flight following service and declared an emergency before landing the airplane on a service road next to some railroad tracks. The left wing was torn and the right main gear had collapsed. The sheriff deputy who responded to the scene did not observe any fuel in the left tank and very minimal fuel in the right wing fuel tank. The deputy also reported the fuel gauges were indicating fuel on board when he turned the master switch on. A post crash inspection of the fuel selector body and screen revealed contamination in the system. The owner photographed the components, which displayed debris in the selector body below the fuel screen area. Both fuel tanks were resealed with a similar colored compound in December 1997. The last annual inspection was performed on the airplane in December 1999. The maintenance technician did not recollect any unusual contamination at the time.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The fuel flow became restricted by remnants of fuel tank sealant that had accumulated in the fuel selector screen. Contributing to the pilot's inability to restart the engine in flight was the empty fuel tank in the left wing and the fuel gauge indication. The constrained landing area was also a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/8/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1025 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Baker |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92309 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 350237N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1161136W |
| Event Location Airport | Barstow Dagget |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DAG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 35 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 45 |
| Airport Elevation | 1927 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1654 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 45 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDAG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1927 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 35 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 16 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 22 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.83 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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) | 12531 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 8 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1106 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 6 2002 3:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N31M |
| NTSB Number | LAX00LA222 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Mooney |
| Aircraft Model | M20D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | M20D |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 188 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2640 |
| 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 | Dec 18 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 43 |
| Airframe Hours | 3523 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | JOHN M. PASCHAL JR |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | HOUSTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77035 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | GJT |
| Departure City | GRAND JUNCTION |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | L35 |
| Destination City | BIG BEAR |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 25 2002 2:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |