Marshalltown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marshalltown, Iowa 50158
Monday, September 1, 2014 17:40 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On September 1, 2014, about 1740 central standard time, the pilot of an Ohlgren Vans RV-6A, N419B, made a forced landing in a bean field after the engine lost power 5 miles south of the Marshalltown Municipal Airport (MIW), Marshalltown, Iowa,. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport (Y14), Tea, South Dakota, about 1615. The pilot said that prior to departing Y14, he visually checked and verified that the right wing fuel tank was "just under" half full and the left wing fuel tank was "just over" half full (a half-full tank contains 19 useable gallons). En route, the pilot switched tanks "multiple times." Approaching KMIW, the pilot decided he would practice a visual approach using the RNAV (GPS) RWY 31 instrument approach procedure. Shortly after turning onto final approach at VUNDY IAF (initial approach fix), the engine lost power. After employing emergency procedures, the pilot was able to restore power and climbed to 3,100 feet. He said he checked the fuel gauges and they both indicated 1/8-full. The engine lost power a second time. The pilot made a forced landing in a bean field and the airplane nose over. On September 2, two airworthiness inspectors and an operations inspector from the Des Moines Flight Standards District Office went to the accident site. They reported the airplane was inverted and the vertical stabilizer and rudder were crushed. The right wing outboard leading edge and tip were crushed. The nose gear was bent. The inspectors rocked the wings rocked back and forth and could not hear any fuel sloshing. Both wing fuel caps were removed and no fuel leaked out. On September 18, 2014, FAA inspectors returned to the accident site. A recovery crew was at the site and turned the aircraft over so that it was resting on its landing gear. With the master switch on, the left fuel gage was one needle-width above empty and the right fuel gage indicated empty. There was no dead or discolored vegetation around the airplane, and the integrity of the fuel tanks appeared intact. No fuel leaked from the tanks. No fuel was visible in either fuel tank. No fuel was recovered when the left and right wing fuel sump drains were removed. Fuel was added to the right tank and the engine was started. It ran at an idle power for about 30 seconds before being shut down.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/1/2014
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1740
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Marshalltown
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 50158
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 433506N
Event Location Longitude 0925031W
Event Location Airport Marshalltown Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LMIW
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport 135
Airport Elevation 975
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 320
Weather Observation Facility ID KMIW
Elevation of weather observation facility 975
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KMIW 012053Z AUTO 29014KT 10SM FEW038 25/17 A2981
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) --
NTSB Notification Source FAA ACE ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2014 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N419B
NTSB Number CEN14LA472
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 OHLGREN BRENT E
Aircraft Model RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21550
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jun 4 2014 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 13
Airframe Hours 377
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name STONE JASON M
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City ABERDEEN
Aircraft Owner State SD
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 574011538
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name STONE JASON M
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City ABERDEEN
Operator State SD
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 574011538
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 Y14
Departure City Tea
Departure State SD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KMIW
Destination City Marshalltown
Destination State IA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2014 10:49AM
User who most recently changed record scoa
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 --