Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ray Community Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ray, Michigan 48096
Saturday, February 4, 2012 11:20 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness reported that the motorglider engine did not sound normal during the preflight run-up and takeoff. The engine subsequently lost power when the aircraft was about 200 feet above ground level. The motorglider took off to the west and entered a gradual left turn. It impacted a golf course less than a mile from the airport. The duration of the accident flight was about 2 minutes. A postaccident examination revealed an accumulation of debris on the inlet side of the fuel pump screen; however, the debris did not appear to obstruct the screen significantly. The appearance of the debris was similar to the fiberglass material used in the construction of the airframe. The fuel tanks had been repaired shortly before the accident due to damage related to the use of alcohol-containing fuel (ethanol). The engine fuel line did not contain any fuel and the carburetors contained only a minimal amount of fuel.
Although the finding of minimal fuel at the engine was consistent with fuel starvation, a definitive reason for a starvation event could not be determined. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, an airplane operating in the ambient conditions at the time of the accident could expect a serious risk of carburetor icing while at cruise and glide power. Engine operations at low power during ground operations are similar to that of operations at glide power, making the carburetor susceptible to icing prior to takeoff; however, a conclusive determination related to the presence of carburetor icing was not possible. A prescription medication commonly used for the management of anxiety disorders and for insomnia was detected at subtherapeutic levels. However, any impairment of the pilot at the time of the accident could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for reasons that could not be determined because the postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/4/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1120 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Ray |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48096 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 424346N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0825402W |
| Event Location Airport | Ray Community |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 57D |
| 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 | 632 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1155 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 163 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MTC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 580 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 17000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.26 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30713 |
| 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 | Nov 14 2012 2:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N325MZ |
| NTSB Number | CEN12LA149 |
| 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 | Pipistrel |
| Aircraft Model | Virus 912 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 251VSW9121207 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1290 |
| Aircraft Category | Glider |
| 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 | Jan 11 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 298 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Charles V Zichchi |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Washington |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 48094 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Charles V Zichchi |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Washington |
| Operator State | MI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 48094 |
| 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 | 57D |
| Departure City | Ray |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1118 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 57D |
| Destination City | Ray |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 25 2012 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sort |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 2494 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |