Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Cottage Grove State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424
Thursday, February 23, 2006 14:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The private pilot reported that prior to departure he accomplished a pre-flight check and reported that he visually inspected the fuel tanks and estimated that the left fuel tank had 15 gallons and the right fuel tank had about 12 gallons. The fuel quantity gages indicated that the right side was about 1/2 full and the left side was between 1/2 and 2/3 full. The pilot then stated that he checked the fuel selector and reported that the selector was positioned to the left fuel tank. The flight instructor then joined the private pilot and the flight took off. The pilot stated that the flight proceeded to another airport, and prior to landing, he confirmed that the fuel selector was on the left side, however in reality, the selector was positioned to the right side fuel tank. The flight then departed this airport to return to the originating airport. Upon arrival, the pilot set-up for a landing on runway 15, however, due to traffic on the runway, the pilot had to maneuver to runway 33. The pilot again confirmed that the fuel selector was on the left side, which was the fuller tank. He then entered the pattern and prepared for landing. While turning to base leg, the pilot noted that he was a little low and he applied power, however, the engine did not respond. The flight instructor told the pilot to turn toward the airport and to switch fuel tanks. The fuel selector is located on the floor on the pilot's side (left side). The pilot stated that he tried to turn the fuel selector but because of the position, he could not get a good grip on the handle. The flight instructor stated that he took control of the aircraft and realizing that they were not going to make the runway, began a gentle turn to the right toward a field. As the aircraft descended it collided with trees. During the wreckage recovery, it was noted that both fuel cells were intact. The left fuel tank contained about 8 gallons of fuel. The right fuel tank was empty. The fuel selector was found positioned to the right side fuel tank. After the wreckage was recovered, the engine and airframe were examined. Fuel was added to both wing fuel tanks and all lines and fittings were checked for leaks. None were found. An attempt was made to move the fuel selector to the left tank position. It was noted that the selector could only be moved by lifting the selector handle, and then with a very forceful hand manipulation the selector was moved. Further inspection noted that smooth transfer of the fuel selector valve was impeded by the round head Phillips retaining screws holding the fuel selector plate in place, instead of flush head type screws. It was also noted that the fuel selector handle has a long rectangle shaped handle with the opposite side being short and with a pointer. It is the short pointed end which depicts the position of the tank selected. After removing and replacing the damaged propeller with a new propeller, the engine started immediately and ran through a total RPM cycle. The fuel selector was moved from the right to the left fuel selector position, with no engine interruption noted. Recent maintenance had replaced the fuel selector.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Fuel starvation while on approach for landing resulting in a loss of engine power, and an inadequately accomplished annual inspection. Incorrect hardware which impeded the movement of the fuel selector valve, improper fuel management and not identifying the proper fuel selector position were factors.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/23/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1415 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Cottage Grove |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97424 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 434827N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1230100W |
| Event Location Airport | Cottage Grove State |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 61S |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 641 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1354 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 322 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EUG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 369 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2600 |
| 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) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.2 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20400 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 23 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 3 2006 2:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Hillsboro, Oregon |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6595U |
| NTSB Number | SEA06LA057 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Mooney |
| Aircraft Model | M20C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2377 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2575 |
| 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 | Feb 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Charles H. Bodie |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Springfield |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97478 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 77S |
| Departure City | Creswell |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1350 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 61S |
| Destination City | Cottage Grove |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 11 2006 5:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 3188 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |