Aviation Crash Map

Barnhart RV-6 N601DB

21 February 2007 · Auburn, Washington, United States · Minor injuries

Summary

On 21 February 2007 at about 22:15 local time, a Barnhart RV-6 registered N601DB was involved in an accident near Auburn, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 22:15
Classification
Accident
Location
Auburn, Washington, United States
Nearest airport
Auburn Municipal Airport (S50)
Coordinates
47.3278, -122.2267
Aircraft
Barnhart RV-6
Registration
N601DB
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Auburn → Auburn
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
SEA07LA059

People

1 person had minor injuries.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 1 0

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to the obstruction of the engine's air inlet by a fabricated neoprene seal, and inadequate maintenance by unknown maintenance personnel. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the initial climb after take off, the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot said there was a motel and casino in front of him, so he performed a 90 degree left-hand turn. The pilot landed the airplane parallel to and inside the airport perimeter fence with the right wing sliding along the fence. The airplane landed hard on both main landing gear and they collapsed. Additionally the engine mounts were broken, the engine firewall was wrinkled, both wings exhibited buckling and wrinkling, and the fuselage was wrinkled. Post accident examination of the engine revealed that a large piece of neoprene was lodged in the engine's air intake. The pilot said that he and the mechanic fabricated a neoprene seal for the engine's air intake during the conditional inspection, which was completed on February 12, 2007. The airplane had flown 0.2 hours, out of conditional inspection, at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
7 Jul 2007 Cessna 170
N9716A
Spanaway, Washington, United States - Minor injuries -
24 Feb 2007 Cessna 180
N9115C
Bellingham, Washington, United States - No injuries -
9 Jul 2007 Piper PA-12
N3964M
Mukilteo, Washington, United States Marc A. Olson Serious injuries -
14 Jul 2007 Yakovlev YAK-55M
N55NH
Everett, Washington, United States - Fatal 1
7 Jun 2007 Cessna 210-5 (205)
N8308Z
Quilcene, Washington, United States Norma J. Ingham Fatal 2
26 Aug 2007 Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000
N8179
Blaine, Washington, United States - No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States