Woodley Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Walnut, Illinois 61376
Thursday, July 14, 2005 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during the agricultural application flight. The pilot reported that after takeoff he "sprayed" a field about 25 miles east of the departure airstrip. He stated that while returning to the airstrip, he experienced "fuel exhaustion four miles east of [the] runway" at 600 feet above ground level. He noted that he turned toward the north into the prevailing winds and executed a forced landing into a corn field. The pilot stated that there were no malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision. A contributing factor was the corn field.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/14/2005
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Walnut
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61376
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413200N
Event Location Longitude 0893500W
Event Location Airport Woodley Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 635
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1435 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID SQI
Elevation of weather observation facility 647
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 34
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSQI 141935Z AUTO 02009G15KT 10SM FEW048 34/
Event Highest Injury Minor
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 --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18427
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 27 2005 6:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8962Q
NTSB Number CHI05CA185
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aero Commander
Aircraft Model S2R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1632R
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 8034
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Craig Woodley
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Tampico
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PVT
Departure City Walnut
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 5 2005 5:18PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
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 --