Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Garden City, Texas 79739
Friday, February 8, 2013 12:45 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he switched fuel tanks during cruise flight and subsequently lost engine power and fuel pressure. The pilot attempted to restore fuel pressure by using the wobble pump and switching fuel tanks; however, he was not successful. The airplane was substantially damaged during the resultant forced landing. During the recovery of the airplane, 1.5 gallons of fuel were recovered from the right fuel tank and 12.5 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left fuel tank. An examination of the engine, wobble pump, engine driven fuel pump, and fuel system revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot moved the fuel selector to the right fuel tank, which had little fuel, starved the engine of fuel, and was unable to restart the engine before the forced landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/8/2013
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Garden City
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79739
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313515N
Event Location Longitude 1013033W
Event Location Airport --
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 1235 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KMDD
Elevation of weather observation facility 2803
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 14
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KMDD 081755Z AUTO 13010KT 10SM CLR 12/M03 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) 31197
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 Mar 21 2013 3:15PM
User who most recently changed record kaij
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2269U
NTSB Number CEN13LA157
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 NORTH AMERICAN-MEDORE
Aircraft Model SNJ-4
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 88-12850
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4657
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BP Residential LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Midland
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79710
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BP Residential LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Midland
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 79710
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 5C1
Departure City Boerne
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MDD
Destination City Midland
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 21 2013 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record kaij
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 --