Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901
Friday, January 18, 2013 13:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
After an uneventful cross-country flight, the pilot initiated the landing descent by reducing engine power. When the airplane approached the base leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot performed the landing checklist, which included switching the fuel selector valve to the left tip tank. When the pilot turned the airplane from the base to final leg of the traffic pattern, he realized that the airplane was too low, and he applied full engine power. However, the engine did not respond, and a few seconds later all engine power was lost. With limited altitude to complete a thorough emergency check, the pilot performed a forced landing to rough terrain. During the landing sequence, the airplane struck a fence and berm, sustaining substantial damage to both wings.
After the accident, the pilot expressed concern that he may have inadvertently starved the engine of fuel during the approach by turning the fuel selector valve beyond its left tip tank travel limit toward its OFF position. The airplane's fuel selector lever was fitted with an interlock mechanism to prevent a pilot from inadvertently shutting off the fuel in this manner. However, examination revealed that the mechanism had shifted and the fuel selector lever could be moved to a position between the left tip tank and the OFF detent without engaging the interlock, which could result in an interruption of fuel flow to the engine.
Data extracted from the engine monitor, as well as the minimal quantities of fuel recovered from the fuel system, were consistent with a fuel starvation event. A postaccident examination of the engine and successful engine run revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadvertent movement of the fuel selector valve beyond its tank detent, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the fuel selector interlock mechanism.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/18/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Rock Springs |
| Event State | WYOMING |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 82901 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413523N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1090332W |
| Event Location Airport | ROCK SPRINGS-SWEETWATER COUNTY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RKS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 134 |
| Airport Elevation | 6765 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1254 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KRKS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 6765 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 1 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 20 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.25 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KRKS 181954Z AUTO 25020KT 10SM CLR 01/M12 A3 |
| 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) | 31954 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 19 2013 1:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sime1 |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N49DS |
| NTSB Number | WPR13LA094 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-235 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7610019 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3000 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 19 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 74.92 |
| Airframe Hours | 4869.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BLUE SKY AERO CLUB |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 841 |
| Aircraft Owner City | GILLETTE |
| Aircraft Owner State | WY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 82717-0841 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Robert Neuwirth |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | GILLETTE |
| Operator State | WY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 82718 |
| 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 | GCC |
| Departure City | GILLETTE |
| Departure State | WY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1110 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | RKS |
| Destination City | Rock Springs |
| Destination State | WY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 19 2013 1:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sime1 |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 10000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |