Diamond Point Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sequim, Washington 98382
Saturday, July 11, 2009 19:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during engine run up prior to takeoff, he was "feeling a little rushed but using my checklist." About 40 minutes into the flight, when the airplane was at an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level about 2 miles from shore over ocean water, the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a 180-degree turn towards a nearby airport. During descent, the pilot turned on the fuel boost pump and "got a short power surge from the engine." The pilot did not "trouble-shoot the problem much" and did not attempt to restart the engine because he was “very focused” on reaching the airport. As the airplane neared the airport, the pilot realized he did not have enough altitude to make the runway and initiated a forced landing onto a grassy field. The airplane landed hard, and the landing gear collapsed. After exiting the airplane, the pilot observed that the fuel selector was positioned to the header tank instead of the main tank. At this point, he realized that he had missed a step in the pre-takeoff checklist and failed to select the main tank before takeoff. During the 40-minute flight, the 5.5 gallons of fuel in the header tank were consumed, and the engine lost power as a result of fuel starvation. According to the pilot, the airplane sustained structural damage to the fuselage and both wings.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to reposition the fuel selector to the main tank. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to properly complete the pre-takeoff checklist.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/11/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Sequim
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98382
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 480520N
Event Location Longitude 1225525W
Event Location Airport Diamond Point Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2WA1
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 262
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID NUW
Elevation of weather observation facility 47
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
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) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
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) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25776
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2009 9:33AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N370LR
NTSB Number WPR09CA342
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 MID-SOUTH CUSTOM CRAFT INC
Aircraft Model SH-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 553
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 14
Airframe Hours 533
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name PEERY TRAVIS B
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LOS ALAMOS
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87544
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name PEERY TRAVIS B
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City LOS ALAMOS
Operator State NM
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 87544
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 S43
Departure City Snohomish
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1820
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code S43
Destination City Snohomish
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2009 2:12PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --