Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mccarthy, Alaska 99695
Thursday, July 3, 2008 17:30 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The solo commercial pilot was on a flight in conjunction with a lodge operation under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot said that he ran one main fuel tank dry 10 minutes into the flight and that, after switching fuel tanks, he turned on the auxiliary fuel pump but was unable to restart the engine. During a forced landing on a sandbar, the airplane stalled about 10 feet in the air, landed hard, and nosed over, damaging the wings and fuselage. The pilot said that he had learned the procedure of running a fuel tank dry in-flight from a more experienced pilot and that it was a fairly common operating procedure. He reported that there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. He wrote that he thought fatigue and unfamiliarity with the airplane may have contributed to the accident. The airplane's Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) states that takeoff and landing should be made with the fuel tank selector valve in the "BOTH" position to prevent inadvertent operation on an empty tank. The POH further describes the procedure if the pilot "desires to completely exhaust a fuel tank quantity in flight." The restart procedure after the engine has quit due to fuel starvation is "immediately switch to a tank containing fuel at the first indication of fuel pressure fluctuation and/or power loss. Then place the right half of the auxiliary fuel pump switch in the "ON" position momentarily (3 to 5 seconds) with the throttle at least 1/2 open. Excessive use of the auxiliary fuel pump and full rich mixture can cause flooding of the engine."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper fuel management which resulted in fuel starvation and a loss of engine power during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was an aerodynamic stall during the emergency landing, the pilot's fatigue, and his unfamiliarity with the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/3/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone --
Event City McCarthy
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99695
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 610853N
Event Location Longitude 1423732W
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 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 --
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
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 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) 25074
NTSB Notification Source FAA Anchorage, ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 4 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 14 2009 9:48PM
User who most recently changed record grol
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Anchorage, FSDO-03

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80596
NTSB Number ANC08LA085
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 185
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18503130
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ultima Thule Outfitters Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Chitina
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99566
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ultima Thule Outfitters Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Chitina
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99566
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Ultima Thule
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code CXC
Destination City Chitina
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise - normal
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2009 6:48PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --