El Tiro Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tucson, Arizona 85701
Friday, May 18, 2001 10:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane lost engine power and collided with an airport perimeter fence, a tree, and the ground. The purpose of the flight was to make sure the airplane was in working order for the day's glider tow activities. The accident flight was the first flight of the day. A preflight inspection was conducted, which included visually verifying the fuel selector position, which was found pointing towards the left. The position of the fuel selector appeared correct to the pilot. No discrepancies were noted with the startup, run-up, or takeoff roll. During climb out the airplane lost engine power. The pilot attempted to slip the airplane down to the runway. The pilot stopped the slip and tried to make it over the perimeter fence. He placed his hand on the fuel selector and noted that it was out of position. He repositioned the fuel selector, the engine quit, and the airplane landed short of the perimeter fence. During the rollout the airplane contacted trees, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright past the fence. The pilot indicated that the he had been flying a Cessna 140, which has a similar fuel selector handle, but works in the opposite direction. He stated that he hadn't flown the Super Cub as often during the year and most of his experience was in the Cessna 140.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which included verifying the position of the fuel selector handle, which subsequently led to fuel starvation and a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/18/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Tucson
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85701
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 320600N
Event Location Longitude 1105646W
Event Location Airport EL TIRO
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AZ67
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 80
Airport Elevation 2100
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 955 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID TUS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2643
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 34
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
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) 11336
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 18 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1330
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-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8524Y
NTSB Number LAX01LA180
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 PA18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18-8888
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TUCSON SOARING CLUB, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5732 N. Camino Arturo
Aircraft Owner City Tucson
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85718
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code AZ67
Departure City Tucson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AZ67
Destination City Tucson
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 4 2002 3:23PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 5120
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --