Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aero Flight Center Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
East Palestine, Ohio 44413
Friday, September 8, 2000 11:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to pilot, he performed a thorough pre-flight inspection and run-up of the homebuilt airplane prior to takeoff. He also stated that he checked the position of the fuel valve, which was located under the cockpit panel, by 'bumping' it with his foot. During the takeoff, the airplane accelerated and lifted off normally; however, when the airplane reached 150 feet above the runway, the engine began to lose power, 'like fuel starvation.' The pilot made a right turn and performed a forced landing to a soybean field. During the forced landing, the airplane nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot stated the airplane's fuel tank capacity was 10 gallons, and he departed with about 4 gallons of fuel on board. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions; however, it was noted that the airplane's fuel valve, did not contain a 'hard stop' or detent, and could be rotated 360 degrees. The pilot reported he had not flown the airplane for over a year prior to the accident, and he did not recall the nature of the valve used during the airplane's construction. He believed the valve had a detent or manual stop, and was not aware that it could be rotated 360 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate pre-flight inspection. A factor in this accident was the inadequate marking of the fuel selector valve to clearly indicate a fully open position.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/8/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1130 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | EAST PALESTINE |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 44413 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | AERO FLIGHT CENTER |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 55OI |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1140 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1150 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 130 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BVI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1253 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| 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 | Minor |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 625 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Great Lakes Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 12 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1641 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 21 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N47XY |
| NTSB Number | NYC00LA261 |
| 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 | Carlson |
| Aircraft Model | CA-8 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | CA-8 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | CA003 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 108 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CARLSON AIRCRAFT INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 50643 STATE ROUTE 14 |
| Aircraft Owner City | EAST PALESTINE |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 44413 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | ROBERT MASON |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | CANFIELD |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 44406 |
| 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 | 55OI |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 38D |
| Destination City | SALEM |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 21 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29 |
| Runway Length | 3000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |