None Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ingalls, Indiana 46048
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 8:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed on a 1 hour 50 minute cross country flight with about 30 gallons of fuel in each wing tank (about 27 gallons usable fuel per side). The flight was uneventful until the pilot started a descent from 8,000 feet to 3,000 feet; the engine then made "two pops" and "quit." The pilot said the engine didn’t run rough; "it just stopped." He made several attempts to re-start the engine but was unsuccessful. The pilot declared an emergency and landed in a field. Upon landing, the nose gear dug into the dirt and separated from the airplane. The right wing rear spar fractured during the landing; however, both wing fuel tanks were undamaged. About 1 quart of fuel was drained from the left wing tank, and the right wing tank contained about 30 gallons of fuel. The pilot could not recall where the fuel selector was positioned at the time of the power loss. Examination of the engine and fuel system revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot was feeding fuel to the engine from the left wing tank and did not switch to the right wing tank before the engine lost power or during the attempted restart.

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 5/1/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 830
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Ingalls
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46048
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395712N
Event Location Longitude 0854712W
Event Location Airport None
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 853 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 40
Weather Observation Facility ID KAID
Elevation of weather observation facility 919
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
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) 31355
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 Jul 18 2013 6:41PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1568Y
NTSB Number CEN13CA250
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BEECH
Aircraft Model A36
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number E-2646
Certified Max Gross Weight 3650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 10 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 16.7
Airframe Hours 3690
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WV AVIATION LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 215 RUFFED GROUSE DR
Aircraft Owner City BRIDGEPORT
Aircraft Owner State WV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 26330-9218
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WV AVIATION LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 215 RUFFED GROUSE DR
Operator City BRIDGEPORT
Operator State WV
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 26330-9218
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 CKB
Departure City Clarksburg
Departure State WV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 700
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code UMP
Destination City Indianapolis
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 8 2013 9:59AM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --