N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Woodstock, Illinois 60098
Sunday, September 8, 2013 17:50 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While at an altitude of 2,200 feet above ground level, the engine began to lose partial power. The pilot attempted to regain engine power by switching the fuel selector to the auxiliary or header tank; however, the engine subsequently lost total power. The pilot executed a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted vegetation and came to rest upright. Postaccident examination of the airplane showed that the right wing fuel tank was empty and left wing fuel tank contained some fuel. The auxiliary or header fuel tank was full of fuel. Examination of the engine and fuel system revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine was functionally tested on the airframe. During the functional test, the engine started and operated without any anomalies noted. It is likely that the pilot was feeding fuel to the engine from a wing tank and did not switch to the auxiliary tank in time before the engine lost power.

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 9/8/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1750
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Woodstock
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 60098
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 422124N
Event Location Longitude 0883022W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 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 2400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31897
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 Sep 20 2013 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record saua
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N54WS
NTSB Number CEN13LA536
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 SWEET WAYNE A
Aircraft Model BUSHBY MUSTANG II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number WS-1
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 2
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 Aug 1 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1483
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ON FILE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Muncelein
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60060
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ON FILE
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Muncelein
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 60060
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 CBF
Departure City Council Bluffs
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1340
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code C81
Destination City Grayslake
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 20 2013 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record saua
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 --