Anacortes Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anacortes, Washington 98221
Saturday, March 27, 2010 14:50 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during his preflight inspection he checked the fuel level with a dipstick and visually confirmed that there was a little less than 1/4 tank of fuel in the left side, and a little more than 1/4 in the right. The pilot then flew around the local area for about 40 minutes and was on his way back to the airport when the engine lost power. The local sheriff reported that when he arrived on scene, the airplane was on the ground inverted and appeared to have contacted some power lines prior to impacting the terrain. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the fuel system and found no evidence of fuel on board the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/27/2010
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1450
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Anacortes
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98221
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 483026N
Event Location Longitude 1223659W
Event Location Airport Anacortes Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K74S
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 241
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1445 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID KBVS
Elevation of weather observation facility 144
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
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) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27866
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 Dec 20 2010 5:09PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5880R
NTSB Number WPR10LA182
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17253549
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
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 Aug 22 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59
Airframe Hours 4334
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LAND & SEA AIRCRAFT SALES & LEASING LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4010 AIRPORT RD HNGR 1
Aircraft Owner City ANACORTES
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98221-1125
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Edward J. Busch
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Anacortes
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98221
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 K74S
Departure City Anacortes
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1345
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code K74S
Destination City Anacortes
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2010 4:58PM
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 --