Ferndale Airfield Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bigfork, Montana 59911
Monday, May 17, 2004 19:22 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that while returning to land at the departure airport, the engine began to "surge". The pilot continued towards the airport but was not able to maintain altitude or establish visual contact with the airport due to terrain. The pilot further reported that since he was unable to reach the airport, he turned approximately 180-degrees and initiated a forced landing in a field. During the landing roll the pilot, in an attempt to avoid running into trees, applied the brakes "aggressively" which resulted in a nose over. In a telephone conversation and subsequent written statement, the pilot reported, "I am convinced the engine quit running because of fuel starvation." He related that the airplane had been "topped" three days earlier and had been flown two hours previous to the day of the accident. On the day of the accident he flew for about an hour. He further revealed that he was aware that the wing tank was empty because he had observed "bubbles" in the fuel sight gauge, which extends out the bottom of the wing tank. The pilot also reported that the airplane was equipped with one 18-gallon wing tank, and a 7-gallon header tank. Post accident examination of the aircraft by maintenance personnel from Discount Aircraft Salvage, found all engine controls to be functioning properly and approximately one tablespoon of fuel was drained from the fuel gascolator. After adding approximately one gallon of fuel to the header tank, the engine was started and ran smoothly with no malfunction or failures noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion while in cruise flight as a result of inadequate preflight planning / preparation. Factors contributing to the accident were the short landing field and trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/17/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1922
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Bigfork
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59911
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 480400N
Event Location Longitude 1135900W
Event Location Airport FERNDALE AIRFIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 53U
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 3060
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
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) 16618
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 17 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Helena FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N37982
NTSB Number SEA04LA084
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 J4/E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 4-1501
Certified Max Gross Weight 1400
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 Jun 27 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 2050
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David E Flatter
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Kalispell
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59901
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code K53U
Departure City Bigfork
Departure State MT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1820
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code K53U
Destination City Bigfork
Destination State MT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 24 2004 6:46PM
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 --