Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Vaughn, Washington 98394
Friday, May 19, 2006 17:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he approached a private runway with the carburetor heat on and the engine's throttle back. He said he descended in a glide from 1,500 feet to 500 feet, and flew over the runway to make sure it was clear of people and obstacles. When he added power back in, the engine sputtered, ran for a short time, and lost power. The pilot said that he picked a place near the shore and ditched in the salty water. He attributed the loss of engine power to carburetor ice.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/19/2006
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Vaughn
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98394
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 472123N
Event Location Longitude 1224742W
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 1655 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID PWT
Elevation of weather observation facility 444
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
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) 20386
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 22 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 Seattle, WA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2426H
NTSB Number SEA06CA101
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 Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.)
Aircraft Model 415-C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3051
Certified Max Gross Weight 1260
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 2005 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 Dale A. Powell
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2720 Parkway W.
Aircraft Owner City University Place
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98466
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 TIW
Departure City Tacoma
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1720
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City Vaughn
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - downwind
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 16 2006 6:25PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --