Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grinnell, Iowa 50112
Friday, February 2, 2007 14:44 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was recently purchased and was being ferried to the new owner when it impacted terrain. A witness reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude when the engine lost power. The airplane impacted a snow-covered agricultural field and sustained damage to the airplane structure leaving a debris field approximately 200 feet in length. Examination of the airplane revealed no usable fuel aboard the airplane. A tailwind prevailed at the time of the accident and the direction of the forced landing was perpendicular to the airplane's flight path. The engine driven fuel pump was tested within test specifications. The examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the pilot in command and the fuel exhaustion during cruise flight. An additional cause was the inadequate forced landing procedure. A contributing factor was the tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/2/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1444
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Grinnell
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 50112
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 414233N
Event Location Longitude 0924406W
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 1453 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID MIW
Elevation of weather observation facility 974
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) -13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23274
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 2 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Des Moines FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41RH
NTSB Number CHI07LA062
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hallburg
Aircraft Model Amphibian S21D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number D109
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2418
Airframe Hours 2418
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Osborne
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Federal Way
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92040
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name James Reynolds
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Naples
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 34112
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LBF
Departure City North Platte
Departure State NE
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code IOW
Destination City Iowa City
Destination State IA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 13 2008 8:34AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --