Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Kobelt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Plattekill, New York 12568
Thursday, May 20, 2010 21:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Prior to departing, the pilot added 17 gallons of fuel to the fuel tanks and three passengers boarded the airplane, resulting in a condition approximately 250 pounds over max allowable takeoff weight. The pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, during which no anomalies were noted. During the initial climb out, the engine stopped producing power, the pilot confirmed that the throttle was in the full forward position, and he looked for a place to land. According to a witness, the airplane "barely cleared trees" during the takeoff climb before it descended out of view. The airplane impacted several trees and came to rest upright in a residential yard. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel selector valve was between the "BOTH" and "LEFT" fuel tank position and the carburetor contained approximately 1 teaspoon of fuel. Tests conducted on the fuel selector valve indicated that in the position as found after the accident, the selector valve allowed some fluid to exit the output valves; however, the exact amount of fuel could not be accurately determined. Therefore, as the engine increased from an idle power setting to a full takeoff power setting the fuel was consumed in the carburetor at a more rapid rate than could be replaced. Several checklists and a placard that was on the fuel selector valve indicated that the valve must be in the "BOTH" position for takeoff; however, according to one passenger, they have performed the checklists so many times that they do not "pull the card out anymore." Examination of the seatbelt attach point revealed that screws were utilized to attach the seatbelts to the airframe, instead of bolts as specified by the airplane parts catalog. The failure to use the appropriate hardware on the seatbelts likely contributed to the severity of the injuries sustained in the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to place the fuel selector valve in the appropriate position for takeoff resulting in a partial loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's attempted takeoff at a higher than allowed gross weight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/20/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 2145 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Plattekill |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 12568 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413808N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0740815W |
| Event Location Airport | Kobelt Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | N45 |
| 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 | 420 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2145 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SWF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 491 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| 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) | 30.02 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28575 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Ulster County Police Dispatch |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 11 2011 11:18AM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N739RK |
| NTSB Number | ERA10LA275 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17270743 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 26 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 9563 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SCHMIDT ROBERT J |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BAY SHORE |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 11706-3235 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | SCHMIDT ROBERT J |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | BAY SHORE |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 11706-3235 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | N45 |
| Departure City | Wallkill |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2144 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | HWV |
| Destination City | Shirley |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 23 2011 3:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 03 |
| Runway Length | 2864 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |