Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hermiston Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hermiston, Oregon 97838
Monday, July 21, 2003 10:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he took off for the aerial application flight with an estimated one hour to one hour and twenty minutes of fuel remaining in the fuel tanks. The pilot utilizes a stop watch to keep track of the time to calculate fuel consumption. While returning to the airport for landing, the engine lost power about one mile short of the runway. Unable to reach the runway, the pilot maneuvered for a forced landing to a field. During the landing roll on rough terrain, the aircraft collided with a rock that damaged the main landing gear and spray boom. The wing sustained substantial damage to ribs and the spar. After the accident, the pilot noted that one hour and three minutes had elapsed. During the post-accident inspection of the aircraft, it was noted that the wing fuel tanks were empty of fuel. The header tank contained a small amount of fuel. After wreckage recovery, fuel was supplied to the system. The boost pumps were activated and fuel pressure was noted. The engine was then started and ran for a few minutes with no anomalies noted before it was shut down.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by failing to refuel, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power. Rocky terrain was a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/21/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1015 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Hermiston |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97838 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 454900N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1191555W |
| Event Location Airport | Hermiston Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HRI |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 220 |
| Airport Elevation | 644 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| 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) | 14678 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 24 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 730 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 30 2003 8:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Hillsboro, Oregon |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4250X |
| NTSB Number | SEA03LA152 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Rockwell |
| Aircraft Model | S-2R |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2030R |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6000 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 7 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 405 |
| Airframe Hours | 11871 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Ag Northwest |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 425 SE 9th Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Hermiston |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97838 |
| 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 | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| 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) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | HRI |
| Departure City | Hermiston |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 942 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| 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 | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 23 2003 2:00PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 4 |
| Runway Length | 4500 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |