Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Westport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Westport, Washington 98595
Saturday, August 7, 2004 15:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he departed from his departure point with about 28 gallons of fuel. About 30 miles out from landing at his destination, the pilot noted that the fuel gage for the right tank (tank selected) was indicating about 2.5 gallons of fuel. When the flight reached the airport, the pilot flew a low downwind to check out the sand bar north of the airport as he and his passenger were planning on fishing in that area. The pilot then turned back to the airport and set-up for a landing on runway 30. The pilot reported that while on downwind, the engine started running rough, the rpm decreased, and the engine subsequently quit. The pilot initiated a forced landing just short of the runway. During the descent, the aircraft collided with trees and the ground. The pilot further stated that carburetor icing conditions were present in the area, however, he had not been utilizing carburetor heat prior to the loss of power. Inspection of the wreckage found that the right fuel tank was empty of fuel, while the left fuel tank still contained 15 gallons. The pilot reported that he had been operating off of the right fuel tank at the time of the loss of power. Inspection of the engine noted that the primer lines, fuel outlet line from the fuel pump and the carburetor bowl were void of fuel.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's improper fuel management. Carburetor icing conditions and trees were a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/7/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Westport |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98595 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 465350N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1240602W |
| Event Location Airport | Westport Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 14S |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 290 |
| Airport Elevation | 8 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 36 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HQM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 18 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.26 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16632 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 7 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1534 |
| 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 | Seattle, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3086J |
| NTSB Number | SEA04LA157 |
| 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 | Headrick |
| Aircraft Model | Vans RV9A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 90325 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1800 |
| 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 | May 16 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 40 |
| Airframe Hours | 68 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael J. Mansker |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sisters |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97759 |
| 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 | EUG |
| Departure City | Eugene |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1330 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 14S |
| Destination City | Westport |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - downwind |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 27 2004 2:39PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 2250 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |