Mariposa-Yosemite Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mariposa, California 95306
Sunday, February 29, 2004 14:45 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

All engine power was lost during an approach for landing and the airplane collided with a berm during a forced landing on soft terrain. The pilot had departed for the planned 2.5-hour-long flight with partially full fuel tanks. No mechanical malfunctions were experienced during the climb or cruise portion of the flight. The engine did not sputter or backfire. Approaching the destination airport, the engine suddenly lost all power. The pilot repositioned the fuel selector to the opposite fuel tank, and engine power was restored. However, about 1 minute later all engine power was again lost, at which point the airplane was approximately 4 miles from the airport. The airplane was subsequently examined by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. He reported observing 4 and 8 gallons of fuel in the left and right wings' fuel tanks, respectively. The gascolator bowl was devoid of foreign material. The engine was test run and it operated normally. According to the FAA's type certificate data sheet, the airplane's unusable fuel was only 2.2 pounds (about 1/3-gallon). The cause of the engine power loss was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/29/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Mariposa
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95306
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372712N
Event Location Longitude 1200324W
Event Location Airport Mariposa-Yosemite
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O68
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 2254
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID MCE
Elevation of weather observation facility 156
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17763
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 29 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1528
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP FSDO Fresno, California

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5205L
NTSB Number LAX04LA143
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-4496
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 4131
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ronald P. Obernolte
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Bass Lake
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93604
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code FUL
Departure City Fullerton
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1215
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code O68
Destination City Mariposa
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 8 2005 5:25PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
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 --