Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Wolf Lake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wasilla, Alaska 99654
Friday, May 4, 2007 15:48 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The private pilot departed from a private airstrip on a personal flight. The airplane climbed to about 200 feet, and then lost power. The pilot made a right turn toward the north, and descended toward a residential area adjacent to the airport. The propeller was not turning just prior to the crash. The airplane clipped the top of a large tree, about 300 feet from a residence, and collided with several additional trees before impacting the ground. The fuel tanks were breached during the accident, but the left inboard tank, when examined at the scene, was nearly full of blue colored fuel. The right inboard tank contained a small amount of fuel. When tested with water detection paste, each tank contained small amounts of water. Fuel was present in the gascolator, and was obtained by opening the forward drain fitting. The aft drain fitting could not be opened due to rust and corrosion. The gascolator also contained sediment, a small amount of water droplets, corrosion around the base of the gascolator screen and the gascolator base, and small globs of a white, opaque, silicone-like grease material. Small globs of the grease material were also found in the carburetor inlet screen, and in the check valve between the gascolator and the carburetor. The interior of the fittings of fuel supply line from the gascolator and the carburetor had some corrosion. The engine was removed from the airframe and placed on an engine test stand. A replacement carburetor was installed, along with a wooden "club" test propeller. The engine was started and produced full rated rpm. The accident carburetor was placed on a test stand and it held normal fuel pressure without leaking. The carburetor bowl contained dirt, sediment, and small amounts of water. The accelerator pump functioned properly. The floats operated normally without binding. The airplane had been flown about 22 hours in the previous 2 years.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power during takeoff initial climb due to fuel contamination, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/4/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1548 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Wasilla |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99654 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 613812N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1491832W |
| Event Location Airport | Wolf Lake |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4AK6 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 572 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1556 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 25 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PAWS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 354 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23087 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Alaska State Troopers |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 4 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2008 3:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4217V |
| NTSB Number | ANC07FA037 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 170 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18573 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| 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 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 4403 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert C. Sellers |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wasilla |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99654 |
| 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 | 4AK6 |
| Departure City | Wasilla |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1547 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| 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 | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 12 2008 3:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 19 |
| Runway Length | 2600 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |