Aeronca 11AC N46WR

Summary

On 16 September 2023 at about 21:50 local time, a Aeronca 11AC registered N46WR was involved in an accident near Apple, Idaho, 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.

Date

16 September 2023 at 21:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Apple, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

47.9181, -116.6394

Aircraft

Aeronca 11AC

Registration

N46WR

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spokane → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA346

1 person had minor injuries.

Fuel starvation due to the pilot’s incorrect movement of the fuel selector valve to OFF, which resulted in a loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported they were on a local flight and, while attempting to balance the fuel load, move the fuel selector valve from the “left” main tank position to the “right” position, the airplane subsequently lost engine power. The pilot was not able to restart the engine and performed a precautionary landing onto a road. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane veered off the road and into a ditch. The wings and engine truss sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that fuel was present in the fuel tanks and that the fuel selector valve positions available were WING TANKS (9 o’clock position), MAIN TANK (12 o’clock position), and OFF (3 o’clock position). The pilot reported that he moved the fuel selector valve from the “left” tank, which was actually the WING TANKS position, to the “right” tank, which was actually the OFF position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.