Gold King Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fairbanks, Alaska 99743
Sunday, September 23, 2012 14:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was in level cruise flight when the engine lost power, resulting in an off-airport emergency landing. During the emergency landing, the airplane nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the rudder. The pilot stated that he had exhausted all the fuel from the right tank. When the engine lost power, he switched to the left fuel tank but could not restart the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/23/2012
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone --
Event City Fairbanks
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99743
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 641132N
Event Location Longitude 1475526W
Event Location Airport Gold King
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AK7
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
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) --
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) 30683
NTSB Notification Source Fairbanks Flight Standards Dis
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2012 1:08AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4483M
NTSB Number ANC12CA112
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-12
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 12-3436
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 May 20 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2914
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name LORRING DAVID W
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FAIRBANKS
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99709-4950
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name LORRING DAVID W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City FAIRBANKS
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99709-4950
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 --
Departure City Fairbanks
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AK7
Destination City Fairbanks
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2012 1:04AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --