Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Date: | Sunday 15 July 2007 |
Time: | 17:00 |
Type: | Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 Islander |
Operator: | Salmon Air Taxi |
Registration: | N6561B |
MSN: | 520 |
First flight: | 1976-05-20 (31 years 2 months) |
Engines: | 2 Lycoming IO-540-K1B5 |
Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
Location: | Stanley, ID ( United States of America)
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Phase: | Approach (APR) |
Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
Departure airport: | Stanley Airport, ID, United States of America |
Destination airport: | Salmon Airport, ID (SMN/KSMN), United States of America |
Narrative:According to the pilot, before the flight, prior to the accident flight, he placed a fuel order, but did not verify that the twin-engine airplane was refueled before departing with 8 passengers for a cross country flight. This flight reached its destination without incident, the passengers exited the airplane, and the pilot then departed as the sole occupant of the airplane on a repositioning flight. Shortly after takeoff, at an altitude of about 400 feet agl, the left engine "started to sputter." The pilot executed the engine failure checklist and upon retarding the left throttle, the airplane yawed to the left giving the pilot the impression it was still producing power. He decided not to shut down the engine and began a right turn to return to the departure airport. During the turn, the right engine "started to sputter," and he noticed the fuel tank indicators were both on empty. The pilot decided to leave all controls forward and gave no further thought to shutting down or feathering either engine. Shortly thereafter, he realized he would not make the runway and elected to land in an open field. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered a ditch, resulting in collapse of the left main landing gear.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's failure to verify that the airplane was refueled, which resulted in a loss of engine power from both engines due to fuel exhaustion and a forced landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 137 days (5 months) | Accident number: | SEA07CA221 | Download report: | Summary report
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Classification:
Fuel exhaustion
All engine powerloss
Forced landing outside airport
Sources:
» NTSB
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Stanley Airport, ID to Salmon Airport, ID as the crow flies is 131 km (82 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.