Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Braceville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Newton Falls, Ohio 44444
Saturday, June 14, 2008 15:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported he had been flying for approximately 15 minutes when he decided to land. The airplane was on downwind for the runway, abeam the threshold, when the engine "sputtered then quit." The pilot switched fuel tanks, and turned on the electric fuel boost pump; however, he was unsuccessful in restoring engine power. At that point, the airplane was outside of gliding distance to the runway, and the pilot made a forced landing to a wooded area short of the runway. A postaccident inspection revealed that the left fuel tank vent was obstructed. The obstruction appeared to be sealant used in the assembly of the tank. The pilot noted that the vent design will be changed to reduce the possibility of a blockage, and the preflight checklist will be revised to specifically verify that the vents are clear prior to flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power during the landing approach due to fuel starvation resulting from an obstructed fuel tank vent. Factors contributing to the accident were the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing, and the airplane's low altitude at the time of the power loss.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/14/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1530 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Newton Falls |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 44444 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 411240N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0805809W |
| Event Location Airport | Braceville |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 41N |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 900 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1537 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 250 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | YNG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1196 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 14 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1600 |
| 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) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.98 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | SPECI KYNG 141937Z 32006KT 9SM SCT016 BKN090 BKN15 |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23873 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 14 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 30 2008 9:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-Cleveland FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N813DJ |
| NTSB Number | CHI08CA165 |
| 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 | Fetherolf |
| Aircraft Model | CH-701 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 7-3614 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1350 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 22.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | James Fetherolf |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Girard |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 44420 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | 41N |
| Departure City | Newton Falls |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1515 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| 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 |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2008 5:37PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 1 |
| Runway Length | 3000 |
| Runway Width | 30 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |