Carson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Carson City, Nevada 89704
Sunday, November 5, 2000 12:10 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a forced landing due to a loss of engine power, the airplane struck a berm, sheared off the landing gear, damaged both wings, and the fuselage. On takeoff the engine became quiet. The pilot heard the engine surge a couple of times, like it was running out of fuel. He also indicated that there was 80 gallons of fuel on board the airplane at the time of the accident. Witnesses heard the engine pop two or three times and saw a puff of white/bluish smoke emanating from the engine. An engine inspection was conducted, which included a fuel system and ignition system check. There were no mechanical anomalies found. A plastic ridge located around the fuel selector valve had been depressed and deformed down to allow the valve to not seat properly in any of the three position detents. The pilot stated that when the engine quit he did not physically or visually verify the fuel selector valve position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel starvation precipitated by the pilot's continued use of the fuel selector valve that was not seating in the detents properly.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/5/2000
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1210
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City CARSON CITY
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89704
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport CARSON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CXP
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 4697
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 305
Weather Observation Facility ID RNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 4412
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 52
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 30
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
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) 11261
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1301
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2002 7:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N185CY
NTSB Number LAX01LA034
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 185F
Aircraft Series Identifier 185F
Aircraft Serial Number 18502839
Certified Max Gross Weight 3350
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 Dec 1 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 2300
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM J. NYE
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City CARSON CITY
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89706
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 CXP
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 4 2001 2:49PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 5900
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --