Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Susanville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Susanville, California 96130
Saturday, October 15, 2011 11:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he purchased the airplane a few months before the accident and had been performing repairs and modifications to the engine’s fuel delivery system. He performed several ground runs and taxi tests prior to the accident; the pilot’s first flight in the airplane took place on the day of the accident and lasted about 1 hour. About 30 minutes later, during the initial climb-out on the second flight, the engine began to vibrate and lose power. The propeller then stopped rotating and the pilot performed a forced landing into a wooded area.
During the postaccident examination, the engine was successfully started and operated. The pilot's installation of paper-element fuel filters was contrary to the engine manufacturer’s recommendations; however, according to the engine manufacturer, it is unlikely that this installation would have resulted in the loss of power. The fuel pump was located on the engine mount, just above the engine, and, while this location could potentially make it prone to excessive heat and vibration, it had been so positioned for many flight hours prior to the accident. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power during the takeoff climb for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/15/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1130 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Susanville |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 96130 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403901n |
| Event Location Longitude | 1204607w |
| Event Location Airport | Susanville |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1Q2 |
| 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 | 5116 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1135 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 145 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RTS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5050 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 72 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KRTS 151835Z AUTO 19005KT 10SM CLR 23/00 A30 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30066 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA WPR ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 5 2012 11:40AM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4077B |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA013 |
| 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 | MILLER |
| Aircraft Model | AVID FLYER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 719 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 950 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Gary L Davis |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Susanville |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 96130 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Gary L Davis |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Susanville |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 96130 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 1Q2 |
| Departure City | Susanville |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 1Q2 |
| Destination City | Susanville |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 5 2012 11:40AM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 16 |
| Runway Length | 4600 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |