Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pope Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pope Valley, California 94574
Saturday, May 12, 2012 12:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the owner-pilot, the engine start and run-up were normal. Shortly after liftoff, when the airplane had reached an altitude of about 50 feet above the runway, the right engine lost power. Because the airspeed was still well below the minimum single-engine control speed and the landing gear had not yet been retracted, the pilot continued straight ahead and landed the airplane in a vineyard just beyond the end of the runway. The airplane’s forward motion was stopped by multiple rows of metal-wire trellises oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel, and then the airplane nosed over onto its back.
Lack of certain equipment and other resources prevented complete postaccident examination or testing of the airframe and engine, but the examination did reveal three anomalies. About 5 drops of water were found in the right main fuel tank, even though the pilot reported that he did not detect any water from any tanks during his preflight inspection and that the airplane had been in a hangar since the accident. It was possible that the engine ingested and was affected by some undetected water that migrated to a fuel inlet after the tail came up on the takeoff roll. The fuel suction crossfeed valve handle was found rotated about 70 degrees (of 90 degrees full travel) toward its OFF position, which is the takeoff setting. Because the valve is located under the copilot seat, it is more likely that the valve was not fully rotated before the takeoff rather than dislodged during or after the accident. According to a manufacturer’s representative, an open crossfeed valve could interfere with fuel flow to the engines. However, the investigation was unable to positively determine whether the valve position did interfere with normal engine operation. Finally, the right engine fuel pump was not a unit specified by the airplane manufacturer. The investigation was unable to determine when that pump was installed or whether it had any significant performance differences from the manufacturer-specified units. However, based on the observed condition of the pump and the history of the airplane, the airplane had likely been operated uneventfully with that fuel pump for many years.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of power in one engine during takeoff, which resulted in a forced landing in a vineyard. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined from the available evidence.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/12/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Pope Valley |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 94574 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 383639N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1222329W |
| Event Location Airport | Pope Valley |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 05CL |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 280 |
| Airport Elevation | 618 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | STS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 120 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| 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) | 30.01 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 33292 |
| 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 | Sep 12 2014 11:49AM |
| User who most recently changed record | huhm |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9540 |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA201 |
| 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 | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | 3NM |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | CA-244 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 9300 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 11 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7908 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | HARDIN ENTERPRISES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4500 HARDIN RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAINT HELENA |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 94574-9600 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | HARDIN ENTERPRISES INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 4500 HARDIN RD |
| Operator City | SAINT HELENA |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 94574-9600 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| 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 | 05CL |
| Departure City | Pope Valley |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 05CL |
| Destination City | Pope Valley |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 12 2014 11:49AM |
| User who most recently changed record | huhm |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 10 |
| Runway Length | 3700 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |