Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Longview, Washington 98632
Friday, February 20, 2004 15:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the pre-flight, he noted that the fuel tanks were about half full. After takeoff and making one touch-and-go landing, he then proceeded to look for a missing barge along the river. The pilot stated, "I then lost track of time and ran low on fuel which caused engine to die." The pilot made a forced landing to an open field. During the landing roll, the nose wheel sunk into a ditch and the aircraft nosed over. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft at the time. An FAA Inspector confirmed the lack of fuel in the fuel tanks.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel exhaustion while maneuvering, as a result of the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision/planning, leading to his failure to refuel the airplane prior to running out of fuel. A ditch was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/20/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Longview
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98632
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 460755N
Event Location Longitude 1225918W
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID KKLS
Elevation of weather observation facility 20
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
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) 15603
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 20 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1545
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5559G
NTSB Number SEA04LA042
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 150J
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15071059
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Nov 13 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 5500
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Timothy G. Kirkpatrick
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Rainier
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97048
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 KLS
Departure City Kelso
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KLS
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 18 2004 5:43PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --