Ryan NAVION N4443K

Summary

On 19 January 2009 at about 00:45 local time, a Ryan NAVION registered N4443K was involved in an accident near Three Forks, Montana, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 January 2009 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Three Forks, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Three Forks (9S5)

Coordinates

45.9033, -111.5297

Aircraft

Ryan NAVION

Registration

N4443K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gillette-Campbe → Three Forks

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR09CA092

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel system management. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's diverted attention and failure to perform the prelanding checklist.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that prior to departure he noted that both wing tip tanks were full of fuel and that the main tank was at least 2/3 full, giving adequate fuel for the flight. After takeoff, the pilot repositioned the fuel selector to draw fuel from the right tip tank, and later, while en route, the pilot switched the fuel selector to the left tip tank. Approaching the destination airport, the pilot became somewhat distracted while talking with a passenger. He did not follow the prelanding checklist and failed to reposition the fuel selector to the main tank, which contained adequate fuel. When the airplane was about 2.5 miles from the airport, all engine power was lost. The pilot then repositioned the fuel selector to draw fuel from the main tank; however, engine power was not restored as the airplane descended from the traffic pattern. The pilot made a forced landing on the underlying rough terrain. During roll out, the airplane collided with vegetation and a wing broke.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.