Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Yolo County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Davis, California 95616
Tuesady, December 6, 2011 16:30 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Before beginning the cross-country flight, the pilot did not fill the fuel tanks to capacity due to weight and balance concerns and estimated the amount of fuel onboard. While on final approach, the engine lost power. Following the loss of engine power, the pilot switched fuel tanks, but he could not recall which fuel tank the fuel selector was positioned to before the power loss. The pilot landed the airplane in a field short of the runway, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. When the airplane came to rest, the pilot positioned the fuel selector to the "off" position. Postaccident examination revealed that fuel was present in the left wing tank; however, no fuel was identified in the right wing tank. The engine was test run with no operational anomalies identified. Although the position of the fuel selector when the power loss occurred could not be determined, it is likely that it was positioned to the right fuel tank. In this position, the engine would have been unable to access fuel from the left fuel tank.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/6/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1630 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Davis |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95616 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 383445N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1215125W |
| Event Location Airport | Yolo County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DWA |
| 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 | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EDU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 27 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| 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) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| 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) | 30.33 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29920 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 20 2012 3:39PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2466D |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA055 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-38-112 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 38-79A0324 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| 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 | Nov 10 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 42 |
| Airframe Hours | 10018 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GOLDEN EAGLE ENTERPRISES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4885 E SHIELDS AVE STE 201 |
| Aircraft Owner City | FRESNO |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93726-6420 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Mazzei Flying Service |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4885 E. Shields Ave. Ste. 201 |
| Operator City | Fresno |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93727 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SMF |
| Departure City | Sacramento |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1610 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | DWA |
| Destination City | Davis |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 22 2012 7:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |