Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
Saturday, July 9, 2011 15:16 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was returning from a remote lodge when the airplane’s engine lost power, resulting in an off airport emergency landing. During the landing, the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that prior to departure from the lodge, there were 26 gallons of fuel in the right main fuel tank, and 8 to 10 gallons in the left main fuel tank. He commonly used the fuel in the right tank for the flight, and the left tank fuel was the reserve supply. When the engine lost power, he switched fuel tanks, and held the emergency fuel boost pump on for about 3 seconds. When the engine did not respond, he moved the fuel lever back and forth, turned the boost pump on, and moved the fuel mixture control to the full rich position. Unable to restart the engine, he made an off airport emergency landing.
The right front seat passenger said that prior to takeoff, he asked the pilot if they had enough fuel, because all four fuel gauges were on or near the empty mark. An examination of the airplane revealed that the right main fuel tank was empty, and about 3 inches of fuel remained in the left main fuel tank. The left header tank was full, and the right header tank contained a small quantity of fuel and water. No mechanical anomalies were found with the fuel system. The engine was test run and it operated satisfactorily.
According to the airplane’s Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), the minimum fuel for the flight (without the required VFR reserve) would have been about 26.8 gallons. The POH treats the running of a fuel tank below a usable level in-flight as a normal operating procedure, but has very specific guidelines for engine restart. The pilot did not follow those procedures. The POH does not discuss the altitude lost or time required for a successful engine restart.
Considering the witnesses’ observations, the postaccident examination of the fuel system and the successful engine operation, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently ran the right main fuel tank below a usable level. Due to the low altitude, time available, and his incorrect restart procedure, he was unable to get the engine restarted to avoid an off-airport landing.
Eighty-nine fuel related accidents involving Cessna single-engine airplanes were reviewed, disclosing that 52 of those accidents were initiated by a fuel tank either being intentionally or unintentionally run below a usable level. All 89 accidents resulted from the pilot not being able to get the engine restarted. Of the major airplane manufacturers producing piston engine powered airframes, Cessna is the only one that places a loss of engine power due to intentionally running a fuel tank below a usable level in the “Normal” operating section of its POH.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s decision to depart with minimal fuel and his improper fuel management and engine restart procedures, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the Pilot Operating Handbook did not provide the altitude or time that would be lost in the event of an engine restart.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/9/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1516 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Anchorage |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99513 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| 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 | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29723 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Anchorage, 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 18 2012 3:48PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9129M |
| NTSB Number | ANC11LA061 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | U206E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | U20601529 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 8 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 11845 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CRATTY TERRY R |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ANCHORAGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99502 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | GREAT NORTHERN AIR LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Anchorage |
| Operator State | AK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99502 |
| Operator Code | G2HC |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | G2HC823K |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Lake Marie Lodg |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1445 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MRI |
| Destination City | Anchorage |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 21 2012 4:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |