Mead Flying Service Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mead, Washington 99021
Saturday, August 20, 2005 10:10 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he had flown this airplane before, but this was the first flight with this engine. He said that immediately after takeoff the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot told the Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that he did not want to land in a housing area at the end of the runway; therefore, he reversed his flight path by applying full left rudder. The first responders found that the airplane had impacted a shed approximately 150 yards past the departure end of runway 34; the pilot said the airplane came to rest on airport property. The airplane's left wing was broken and nearly separated from the fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/20/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1010
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Mead
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99021
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 474730N
Event Location Longitude 1172104W
Event Location Airport Mead Flying Service Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 70S
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 1900
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID SFF
Elevation of weather observation facility 1953
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
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) 30.1
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) 19285
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
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 Spokane, WA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7702X
NTSB Number SEA05LA177
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Tichacek
Aircraft Model N-3 Pup
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number N85621-11
Certified Max Gross Weight 535
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 2
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Darrel E. Tichacek
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Mead
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99021
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 70S
Departure City Mead
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1010
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 70S
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 30 2005 3:43PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 2480
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --