Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Fort Bridger Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fort Bridger, Wyoming 82933
Friday, August 1, 2014 10:28 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On August 1, 2014, at 1028 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Gerald Spittler (Rans Inc.) S-16 Shekari, N116GS, lost engine power following takeoff from Fort Bridger Airport, Fort Bridger, Wyoming. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local flight. The private pilot and passenger were not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage during the forced landing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported performing an uneventful preflight check and engine run-up. He taxied onto the runway and applied full engine throttle control, and the airplane accelerated appropriately. Having reached a speed of 65 mph about 1,500 feet down the runway, he initiated a climb to 30 feet above ground level (agl), remaining over the runway as the airplane accelerated. Having attained a speed of 100 mph, he applied aft elevator control and the airplane climbed to about 200 feet agl as he approached the end of the runway. Shortly thereafter, the engine began to hesitate, and then lose all power. With minimal altitude, the pilot elected to maintain the airplane's heading and land on a dirt road ahead. He confirmed the fuel boost pump was on, and applied full rich fuel mixture control with no change in power. Just prior to landing he changed course for a larger road, and during the landing flare the right main landing gear caught the edge of the road and collapsed. The airplane struck a pit and spun around, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing and aft fuselage.
The pilot stated that the fuel servo had recently been overhauled due to a low fuel pressure problem. He reinstalled the unit himself following overhaul, and this was the first flight since.
An airframe and powerplant mechanic examined the engine following the accident under the direction of the NTSB investigator-in-charge. Examination of the fuel inlet line, which connected the fuel servo to the fuel flow divider, revealed that it was approximately 1 1/3 turns loose at the 'B' nut fitting at the fuel flow divider. The mechanic did not observe any other anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/1/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1028 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Fort Bridger |
| Event State | WYOMING |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 82933 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 412336N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1102421W |
| Event Location Airport | FORT BRIDGER |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FBR |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 7038 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1035 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KBFR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7038 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.4 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KFBR 011635Z AUTO 36004KT CLR 19/08 A3040 RM |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA NWM ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 5 2014 6:52PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sime1 |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N116GS |
| NTSB Number | WPR14LA323 |
| 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 | RANS |
| Aircraft Model | S-16 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1298009 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1450 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 27 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 32 |
| Airframe Hours | 203 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WALTERS THOMAS M |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LYMAN |
| Aircraft Owner State | WY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 82937-0782 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | WALTERS THOMAS M |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | LYMAN |
| Operator State | WY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 82937-0782 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | FBR |
| Departure City | Fort Bridger |
| Departure State | WY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1027 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | FBR |
| Destination City | Fort Bridger |
| Destination State | WY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 5 2014 6:52PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sime1 |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 22 |
| Runway Length | 6404 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |