Coeur D'alene Air Terminal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Coeur D'alene, Idaho 83815
Friday, August 29, 2008 12:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the airplane departed on its maiden flight, witnesses reported hearing the engine "cut out" then start again before completely losing power. The airplane was subsequently observed in "a tight spiral" with its wings "pointing straight up and down" before impacting terrain and sliding into the side of a school building. The airplane came to rest in an inverted position. Fuel was detected at the accident site and there was no post crash fire. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector reported that the carburetor's mixture control lever had separated from its mixture shaft, and that the carburetor's metering valve shaft appeared to have been slightly bent and grooved for some time.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control after the engine experienced a loss of power. Contributing to the accident was the mixture control arm separating from the fuel metering valve shaft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/29/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Coeur d'Alene
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83815
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 474625N
Event Location Longitude 1164914W
Event Location Airport Coeur d'Alene Air Terminal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID COE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2125
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1235 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID COE
Elevation of weather observation facility 2320
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
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) 25253
NTSB Notification Source Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 29 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 29 2009 2:10PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane, Washington

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9881T
NTSB Number SEA08LA190
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 Lien
Aircraft Model Zodiac 601 XL
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6-5407
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 Aug 16 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0.1
Airframe Hours 0.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Kenneth L Lien
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Spokane
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99037
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Kenneth L Lien
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Spokane
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99037
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code COE
Departure City Coeur d'Alene
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1235
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code COE
Destination City Coeur d'Alene
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 23 2009 5:15PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --