Burlington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burlington, Wisconsin 53105
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he departed with the fuel selector set to the right fuel tank, which was full of fuel. About 30 minutes after departure, he made a touch-and-go landing and takeoff at his destination airport. During the initial climb, the engine started to lose power when the airplane was about 100 feet above the runway. The pilot entered a left turn and attempted to land on an adjacent grass runway, but the airplane impacted the terrain short of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s fuel system revealed that the left fuel tank was empty and the right fuel tank was full of fuel. Examination of the airplane’s fuel selector revealed that the fuel selector indicator handle was improperly installed. When the fuel selector indicator handle was placed in the right fuel tank position, the fuel was actually coming from the left fuel tank. There was no record in the airplane’s maintenance logbook that indicated replacement of the fuel selector valve, the fuel selector indicator handle, or the fuel selector placard. It was not determined who performed the maintenance on the fuel selector and had improperly installed the fuel selector indicator handle.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The improper installation of the fuel selector indicator handle, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/29/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Burlington
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53105
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 424126N
Event Location Longitude 0881816W
Event Location Airport Burlington Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BUU
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 780
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1615 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BUU
Elevation of weather observation facility 780
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
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) 29747
NTSB Notification Source FAA-AGL-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2012 9:38PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2332V
NTSB Number CEN11LA448
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 CESSNA
Aircraft Model 140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 14568
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 3 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4748
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Stick and Rudder
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lake Bluff
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66044
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Stick and Rudder
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Lake Bluff
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 66044
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 ENW
Departure City Kenosha
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code BUU
Destination City Burlington
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 3 2012 1:47PM
User who most recently changed record silj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 2410
Runway Width 130
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --