West Bend Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Bend, Wisconsin 53090
Sunday, August 5, 2001 20:39 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane lost engine power during the takeoff portion of a touch and go and subsequently impacted a tree and the ground before coming to rest. A postaccident examination showed that the left wing fuel tank was compromised and the right wing fuel tank was intact. Fuel could not be seen in the right fuel tank by visual inspection through the fuel filler opening. Fuel was found in the carburetor fuel bowl. The fuel selector valve was found with the selector positioned for the right wing fuel tank. Four gallons of fuel was added to the right wing fuel tank and an engine run performed. The engine was run from idle to 1,500 RPM and no anomalies were noted. No anomalies were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition. The pilot stated that he began the flight with 10 gallons of fuel in each wing tank and he indicated, in his written report, that there were 20 gallons of fuel on board at the last takeoff. The "Pilot's Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Airplane Flight Manual" for the aircraft states, "Do not take off when the Fuel Quantity Gages indicate in the *Yellow Band or with less than 11 gallons in each main tank." It was found during the postaccident examination of the aircraft that the fuel quantity gages were not marked with yellow bands.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot not following the aircraft fuel management procedures. Factors were the fuel starvation, the low altitude, the manufacturers service instruction not complied with, and the tree.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/5/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2039
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City West Bend
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53090
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport WEST BEND MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ETB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 886
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2055 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID ETB
Elevation of weather observation facility 886
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KETB 060155Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 26/23 A3010 RMK
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11295
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 6 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2002 2:29PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2367J
NTSB Number CHI01LA264
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 Beech
Aircraft Model 23
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number M-325
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Jan 18 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 53
Airframe Hours 2415
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald W. McLean
Aircraft Owner Street Address 12104 N. Silver Ave.
Aircraft Owner City Mequon
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 53097
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code ETB
Departure City West Bend
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2000
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2001 3:33PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 3898
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --