Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 18:09 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial pilot, with two passengers, was preparing to land following a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. The pilot said that as the airplane descended to about 1,000 msl, all engine power was lost. In an attempt to restore engine power, he switched the airplane's fuel tank selector valve from the "both" position to the "left", then to the "right" position, and back to "both." The pilot noted that he did not activate the airplane's auxiliary fuel pump while he was switching fuel tanks. The pilot selected a small open area that was surrounded by trees and power lines for a forced landing. During the landing approach, the airplane collided with the power lines and trees, receiving substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The accident airplane's maximum fuel capacity is 84 gallons, with 78 gallons of usable fuel. The unusable fuel is 6 gallons, or 3 gallons per side. During an on-site postaccident inspection, about 6 gallons of fuel was drained from the right fuel tank, and about 1.5 gallons of fuel from the left fuel tank. A postaccident engine examination revealed that the brass, fuel control-mounted mixture control lever, was loose on the mixture control shaft. The mixture control shaft was in the closed (off) position. Once the fuel control shaft was manually moved to the open position, the engine was started and operated at various power settings for an extended time. The engine produced its full rated rpm. According to an FAA airworthiness inspector, the accident airplane was about 10 months overdue for an annual inspection, and the mixture control linkage is an item required to be checked during the annual inspection.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power during descent due to a loose mixture control linkage, and the pilot/owner's failure to maintain the airplane's annual inspection schedule, which resulted in a forced landing in an area that contained power lines and trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/27/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1809
Event Time Zone --
Event City Anchorage
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99503
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 611200N
Event Location Longitude 1494900W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID MRI
Elevation of weather observation facility 137
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
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) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.28
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19083
NTSB Notification Source ANC FAA, ROC
NTSB Notification Date Apr 27 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1811
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2006 12:35PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Anchorage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2658S
NTSB Number ANC05LA063
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 185F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18502260
Certified Max Gross Weight 3350
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Jul 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 111.5
Airframe Hours 3726.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Christy Hilde
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2330 Canary Court
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99515
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Dean M. Hilde
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2330 Canary Court
Operator City Anchorage
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99515
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 MRI
Departure City Anchorage
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1709
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MRI
Destination City Anchorage
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 19 2005 2:53PM
User who most recently changed record PETL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --