Arlington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Arlington, Washington 98223
Saturday, July 4, 2009 17:37 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice touch-and-go landings. During the takeoff portion of a touch-and-go, about midway down the runway, the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a gentle left turn towards a vacant taxiway to initiate a forced landing. The pilot landed hard just short of the taxiway. The left wing was wrinkled, and the nose wheel and left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot stated that he had the incorrect fuel tank selected, and "the engine lost power due to fuel starvation." He also stated that prior to takeoff, one fuel tank had "little to no fuel" and "the other fuel tank was about half full." The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the engine or airframe prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to select the fullest tank prior to takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1737
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Arlington
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98223
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 480938N
Event Location Longitude 1220932W
Event Location Airport Arlington Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KAWO
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 142
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
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) 25898
NTSB Notification Source FAA 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 Oct 5 2009 3:37PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N432P
NTSB Number WPR09CA329
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name NALIS
Aircraft Model GLASTAR
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 5386
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 20 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 138
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Peter G. Nalis
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City SEATTLE
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98105
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Peter G. Nalis
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City SEATTLE
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98105
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 KAWO
Departure City Arlington
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KAWO
Destination City Arlington
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2009 3:18PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 5332
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --