Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Seldovia Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Seldovia, Alaska 99663
Sunday, March 23, 2003 13:00 AST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot of the homebuilt experimental airplane reported that soon after takeoff, the airplane's engine lost all power. He estimated he was about 150 feet above the runway, and elected to make an emergency landing on the remaining gravel runway. He said the airplane landed hard, and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. Discussions with the owner/builder of the airplane and the pilot disclosed they believed the engine may have lost power due to fuel starvation related to siphoning of fuel from the forward tanks to the rear tanks, or possibly inadequate fuel tank venting. The pilot also noted that carburetor icing conditions were prevalent the day of the accident, and although he used carburetor heat prior to takeoff, carburetor ice may have been a factor. Due to the remote location of the wreckage, the airplane was not inspected by NTSB or FAA personnel.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power during initial climb for an undetermined reason, which resulted in a hard landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/23/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Atlantic Standard Time |
| Event City | Seldovia |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99663 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 592600N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1514200W |
| Event Location Airport | SELDOVIA |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SOV |
| 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 | 29 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Atlantic Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | paso |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 29 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | AST |
| 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) | -2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.63 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14125 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 23 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1500 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2003 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Anchorage FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1243W |
| NTSB Number | ANC03LA033 |
| 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 | Hughes |
| Aircraft Model | STOL King |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 001 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1232 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Mar 15 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Phillip A. Hughes |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 101 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Seldovia |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99663 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O.Box 101 |
| Operator City | Seldovia |
| Operator State | AK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99663 |
| 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 | SOV |
| Departure City | Seldovia |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | DT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SOV |
| 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 | Aug 11 2003 3:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PETL |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34 |
| Runway Length | 1845 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |