Kennedy Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kennedy, New York 14747
Friday, April 16, 2004 17:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot performed a touch and go, and as he made a right turn in the traffic pattern, he observed fuel venting from the right wing of the airplane. He then switched the fuel tank selector position from the left tank to the right tank, to burn off fuel from that tank. He flew the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, and as he turned onto the base leg, the engine lost power. The pilot then set up for a forced landing, during which the airplane impacted trees. The pilot stated that when he switched the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank position, he did not secure the selector into the right tank detent, effectively turning the fuel "off." He reported the accident could be attributed to "pilot error."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper fuel tank selector position which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/16/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1745
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Kennedy
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 14747
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 420100N
Event Location Longitude 0792141W
Event Location Airport Kennedy Airfield
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID JHW
Elevation of weather observation facility 1724
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
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) 30.14
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) 15780
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Apr 16 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Rochester FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N569Z
NTSB Number NYC04CA108
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 Andrews
Aircraft Model Zenith Tri-Z
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 569
Certified Max Gross Weight 1850
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 6 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59
Airframe Hours 359
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeffrey Paden
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Kennedy
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 14747
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 P15
Departure City Pittsfield
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City Kennedy
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2004 10:03AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2500
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --