Anacortes Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anacortes, Washington 98221
Friday, October 6, 2006 16:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The amateur-built experimental-category airplane lost partial engine power shortly after takeoff. The pilot reported that the engine did not entirely stop running, but rather "sputtered" and experienced a significant reduction in power, less than required to sustain flight, and he elected to ditch the aircraft. FAA Inspectors examined the wreckage and reported that the engine was intact and no evidence was found to indicate a mechanical failure. The pilot reported that further examination of the engine, to include a teardown, revealed no additional information that could explain the loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power during takeoff for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/6/2006
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1640
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Anacortes
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98221
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 482956N
Event Location Longitude 1223944W
Event Location Airport ANACORTES
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 74S
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21523
NTSB Notification Source FAA_ROC
NTSB Notification Date Oct 6 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Seattle, Washington

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N635GH
NTSB Number SEA07LA005
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 Hatcher
Aircraft Model Fisher Celebrity
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AV-1027
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 23
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Evan D. Larue
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Burlington
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98233
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 74S
Departure City Anacortes
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1640
Departure Time Zone PDT
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 Descent - emergency
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 12 2007 8:22PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
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 --