Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
Sunday, July 28, 2002 19:50 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the takeoff, about 200 feet above the departure end of the runway, the engine lost total power, and the pilot elected to attempt a 180-degree turn back to a parallel taxiway near the runway. As the airplane descended in the turn, it impacted two un-occupied airplanes in a tie-down area located south of the runway. Examination of the wreckage revealed that when the fuel selector valve was selected to the "ON" position, and power was applied, the engine would lose power. When the fuel selector was selected 3/8-inches from the "OFF" position, the engine would run with no anomalies. The fuel valve was not manufactured with detents. A review of FAA-H-8083-3, Airplane Flying Handbook, revealed, "...If an actual engine failure should occur immediately after takeoff and before a safe maneuvering altitude is attained, it is usually inadvisable to attempt to turn back to the field from where the takeoff was made. Instead, it is safer to immediately establish the proper glide attitude, and select a field directly ahead or slightly to either side of the takeoff path."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper decision to perform a 180-degree turn with insufficient altitude remaining after experiencing a total loss of power. A factor related to the accident was the inadequate alignment of the fuel selector placard markings, resulting in an inaccurate selector position and the subsequent total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/28/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1950 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Harrisonburg |
| Event State | VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 22801 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 381549N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0785347W |
| Event Location Airport | Shenandoah Valley Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SHD |
| 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 | 1201 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1930 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SHD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1201 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 24 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| 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) | 29.97 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 14743 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Eastern Region Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 28 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2045 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 5 2004 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Richmond, VA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N99754 |
| NTSB Number | NYC02LA148 |
| 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 | Bird |
| Aircraft Model | CK |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4006 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2303 |
| 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 | Jun 12 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 46 |
| Airframe Hours | 160 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Franklin Root |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Staunton |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 24401 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SHD |
| Departure City | Harrisburg |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1945 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| 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 | Nov 5 2003 10:01AM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |