Montgomery Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Diego, California 92123
Thursday, February 8, 2001 18:50 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot repositioned the engine fuel tank selector to what he believed was the opposite wing tank when in the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern. On the base leg, all engine power was lost and the pilot performed an emergency landing, coming to rest about 1,800 feet short of the runway's threshold. An examination of the airplane revealed fuel in both wing tanks. The pilot acknowledged that he had mispositioned the fuel selector by inadvertently switching it to the off position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel starvation due to the pilot inadvertently shutting off its supply on approach for landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/8/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1850
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City San Diego
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92123
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324956N
Event Location Longitude 1170822W
Event Location Airport Montgomery Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MYF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 427
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID MYF
Elevation of weather observation facility 427
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11330
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 8 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1925
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 23 2002 7:13AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO San Diego, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8122G
NTSB Number LAX01LA094
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8090150
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 3 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 7458
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name B & B Aviation Enterprises
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10540 Canyon Lake Drive.
Aircraft Owner City San Diego
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92131
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Plus One Flyers, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. Box 23784
Operator City San Diego
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92193
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code MYF
Departure City San Diego
Departure State --
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1820
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code MYF
Destination City San Diego
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - downwind
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 3 2002 5:22PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28r
Runway Length 4577
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --