Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Anacortes, Washington 98221
Thursday, May 8, 2003 13:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, whose plan it was to fly around the local area for about 45 minutes, he attempted to switch to an auxiliary fuel tank in order to maintain a specific amount of fuel in each main tank. But while moving the fuel tank selector lever, he inadvertently turned the fuel selector to the OFF position. Soon thereafter the engine lost power, and the pilot moved the selector back to the left main tank. He then expected the windmilling engine to start running again, but because he forgot to activate the fuel wobble-pump, the engine did not restart. Because he was over water, he donned a floatation vest and flew the aircraft to a power-off landing on the water's surface. After ditching, the pilot exited the aircraft, and was soon thereafter picked up by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishing ship. According to the pilot, there did not seem to be any problems with the aircraft's fuel system or engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadvertent selection of the incorrect fuel tank selector position (OFF) while in cruise flight over open water, and his failure to activate the fuel wobble-pump. A contributing factor was the unsuitable terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/8/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1330 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Anacortes |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98221 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 483300N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1223300W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Witness |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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) | 13732 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 8 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1350 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 23 2003 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Seattle FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5030B |
| NTSB Number | SEA03LA078 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | F-35 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D-4297 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2750 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 23 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert W. Ajeman |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Anacortes |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98221 |
| 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 | BVS |
| Departure City | Burlington |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1320 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | BVS |
| Destination City | Burlington |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 30 2003 3:05PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |