Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Shelton, Washington 98584
Sunday, June 18, 2006 17:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he had initially departed from Ephrata, Washington, with 3 hours of fuel; he said that the 145 nautical mile trip should have taken him 1.3 hours. The pilot reported that he made an interim full-stop at Ellensburg, Washington; he said that he had "very heavy winds" until west of the Cascade mountains. He reported a loss of engine power on 2 mile final at Shelton, Washington. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector disconnected the fuel line to the carburetor and drained approximately 1.25 gallons of fuel from the tanks. The manufacturer’s Owners Manual states that the airplane's fuel capacity is 26 gallons, but 3.5 gallons are unusable.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by failing to refuel while en route, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. Compensation for weather (head winds), and trees were factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/18/2006
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1745
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Shelton
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98584
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 471417N
Event Location Longitude 1230827W
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 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID SHN
Elevation of weather observation facility 273
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
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 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20395
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jun 18 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 N6255G
NTSB Number SEA06CA122
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15071755
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Oct 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4655
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard K. Wiley
Aircraft Owner Street Address 162 E. Prairiewood Pl
Aircraft Owner City Shelton
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98584
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 ELN
Departure City Ellensburg
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SHN
Destination City Shelton
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 17 2006 3:27PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
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 --