Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Santa Monica Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Santa Monica, California 90405
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 17:05 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses observed the airplane climb normally after takeoff until reaching an altitude between 200 to 400 feet, then the engine sound stopped. The airplane appeared to slow down as it made a right turn followed by a descending spin until impacting the runway. The main wing tanks had been topped off about 1 week before the accident by another pilot. The pilot reported that he taxied the airplane to the hangar with the fuel selector valve in the right tip fuel tank position per standard operating procedures for the airplane. The pilot stated that a small amount of fuel was in the tip tank; however, the exact quantity was not able to be determined. Postaccident on-site examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel tank selector valve handle appeared to be in the right tip fuel tank position. Based on detailed examination of the selector, and the nature of the cockpit structure deformation, it was later determined that the fuel tank selector valve was out of its detent and was actually between the Right Tip Tank and the Both Tip Tank selections. The fuel tank selector was probably moved out of the selector detent as a result of the crushing forces and structural deformation around the selector handle during the impact sequence. The fuel tank selector valve assembly was disassembled and found to be operational. The approved airplane flight manual for the airplane indicated that the selector valve should be positioned on the left wing tank for starting. Both the manual and the placards on the instrument panel stated that the use of “Tip Tank” and “both Tips” is limited to level flight only. The airframe and engine were examined with no mechanical anomalies identified.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to select the proper fuel tank for takeoff, which resulted in a loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while attempting a return to runway maneuver.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/28/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1705 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Santa Monica |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 90405 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 343944N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1182722W |
| Event Location Airport | Santa Monica Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SMO |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 177 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1651 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SMO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 177 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.14 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KSMO 290051Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 18/M07 A3014 R |
| 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) | 26725 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA WP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 12 2010 4:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N688C |
| NTSB Number | WPR09FA102 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | SIAI-MARCHETTI |
| Aircraft Model | SF-260C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 466 (37-004) |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2430 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 90 |
| Airframe Hours | 3655 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WINGSPAN INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 6154 VIA ESCONDIDO DR |
| Aircraft Owner City | MALIBU |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90265-4447 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Paulo M. Emanuelle |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Santa Monica |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 90405 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | SMO |
| Departure City | Santa Monica |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1705 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | SMO |
| Destination City | Santa Monica |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 12 2010 4:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 4973 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |