Pearson Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Vancouver, Washington 98661
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 16:07 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after the airplane took off, a witness heard sounds indicative of an engine problem. The airplane started to make a controlled turn back to the runway; however, it subsequently experienced an aerodynamic stall and crashed at a 45-degree nose-down attitude. The airplane's annual inspection had been completed the week before the accident and the accident flight appeared to be the first flight after the inspection. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed an orange rubber-like debris in the right-hand carburetor bowl. The debris was similar to the RTV fire sleeve material used to insulate the fuel lines that resided in the airplane's engine compartment. How the orange rubber/RTV material came to reside in the carburetor bowl could not be determined; however, foreign material in the carburetor bowl could block a carburetor main jet, resulting in a partial to complete loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during an attempt to return to the runway immediately after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was foreign debris in the right-hand carburetor bowl, which precipitated a loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/27/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1607
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Vancouver
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98661
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 453713N
Event Location Longitude 1223917W
Event Location Airport Pearson Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KVUO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 25
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KVOU
Elevation of weather observation facility 98661
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
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 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32007
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 13 2013 12:49PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N645GR
NTSB Number WPR12LA277
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name REHN
Aircraft Model KITFOX IV
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1700
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
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 Jun 14 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 475
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name WOODWARD HANNIBAL F
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City VANCOUVER
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98660-1538
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WOODWARD HANNIBAL F
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City VANCOUVER
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98660-1538
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KVUO
Departure City Vancouver
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KVUO
Destination City Vancouver
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 13 2013 12:49PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 3275
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --