Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gibbonsville, Idaho 83463
Saturday, April 17, 2004 12:00 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
In a written statement the pilot reported that approximately 10 miles south of Lost Trail Pass he decided to turn back due to deteriorating weather ahead. The pilot stated that during the turn he lost track of the two other aircraft that made up the flight of three. The pilot stated he was "trying to locate [the] other two A/C [aircraft] to the exclusion of the engine instruments". The pilot stated that as the airplane reached the summit he added power "as I was too low." Concurrent with the increase in power, the engine quit. The pilot maneuvered the airplane in an effort to avoid rising terrain, however, during the maneuver the airplane collided with multiple trees eventually impacting terrain in an inverted position. The pilot rated passenger reported the weather conditions along the route of flight began to deteriorate, and the pilot-in-command of the accident airplane elected to return to Stevensville. The passenger reported that shortly after making the decision to return, the airplane's engine began to lose power. After losing power, the airplane stalled and collided with terrain. The pilot and pilot rated passenger both indicated the loss of power was the result of carburetor ice. The pilot was operating the airplane in moderate snow showers. The pilot's written report indicated the outside air temperature was approximately 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to apply carburetor heat in icing conditions which resulted in a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. Factors contributing to the accident are unsuitable terrain for an emergency landing , trees and mountainous terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/17/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1200 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gibbonsville |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83463 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 454126N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1135649W |
| 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 | 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 | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Unknown |
| 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) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Moderate |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16430 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 17 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1915 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Boise, Idaho |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5XK |
| NTSB Number | SEA04LA071 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Keller |
| Aircraft Model | Prospector FK1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 002 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2100 |
| 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 | Oct 30 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 34 |
| Airframe Hours | 618 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas C. Kuffel |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Whitefish |
| Aircraft Owner State | MT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 59937 |
| 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 | 32S |
| Departure City | STEVENSVILLE |
| Departure State | MT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 06U |
| Destination City | JACKPOT |
| Destination State | NV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 5 2004 1:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |