N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Elm Creek, Nebraska 68836
Monday, May 14, 2012 15:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The accident occurred on the first flight following a condition inspection. The pilot reported that about 50 minutes after takeoff, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot lowered the nose of the airplane and was able to restart the engine. The loss of engine power occurred five more times, and the pilot was able to regain power after each power loss except for the last. The pilot chose a field in which to land, but the airplane collided with a grass embankment before arriving at the field. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed the pistons in the two-cycle engine had seized due to a lack of lubrication. The injection oil reservoir contained an unusable amount of oil. The integrity of the oil injection system was verified and no breaches were noted. The pilot stated that he did not check the oil level during the preflight inspection.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to verify the amount of oil in the injection oil reservoir before takeoff, which resulted in an insufficient fuel/oil ratio and subsequent loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/14/2012
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Elm Creek
Event State NEBRASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 68836
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404845N
Event Location Longitude 0992504W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 75
Weather Observation Facility ID GRI
Elevation of weather observation facility 1847
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 62
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KGRI 142153Z VRB03KT 10SM CLR 28/M03 A3004 R
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32361
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 22 2014 4:23PM
User who most recently changed record sulp
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7199T
NTSB Number CEN12LA302
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name TROYER
Aircraft Model KITFOX 3
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1155
Certified Max Gross Weight 1050
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jan 10 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 129
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gothenburg Leasing, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Gothenburg
Aircraft Owner State NE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 69138
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Gothenburg Leasing, LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Gothenburg
Operator State NE
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 69138
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 No
Departure Airport Code K07K
Departure City Central City
Departure State NE
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KGTE
Destination City Gothenburg
Destination State NE
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 15 2014 4:10PM
User who most recently changed record sulp
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --