- Date
- February 17, 2009, 09:28 local (15:28 UTC)
- Place
- Grain Valley, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7942DBeech H35
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 12, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20090217002099A
- Case key
- 73361
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation (mechanical). Contributing to the accident was the forced landing on unsuitable terrain.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot said that shortly after takeoff, the aircraft's engine lost all power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but without success. He made a forced landing in an open field. During the landing roll-out, the left wing struck a tree causing the airplane to spin around. The wing's leading edge was wrinkled, the wing spar was damaged, and the nose gear strut assembly was sheared off. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies prior to the engine losing power. An examination of the airplane' s engine and engine driven fuel pump revealed "foreign matter under the pressure relief valve", which allowed "fuel to bypass" the carburetor and return to the fuel tank instead.
Factual narrative
On February 17, 2009, at 0928 central standard time, a Beech H35, N7942D, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field one mile east of runway 09 at East Kansas City Airport (3GV), Grain Valley, Missouri. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured. The cross country flight departed 3GV and was en route to Atchison, Kansas (K59). The pilot said that shortly after takeoff, the aircraft's engine lost all power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but without success. He made a forced landing in an open field. During the landing roll-out, the left wing struck a tree causing the airplane to spin around. An on scene examination showed that the left wing was substantially damaged from the landing gear outboard. The wing's leading edge was wrinkled, the wing spar was damaged, and the nose gear strut assembly was sheared off. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies prior to the engine losing power. An examination of the airplane' s engine and engine driven fuel pump revealed "foreign matter under the pressure relief valve", which allowed "fuel to bypass" the carburetor and return to the fuel tank instead.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7942D
- Reported as
- Beech H35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-5192
- Airframe hours
- 5,369
- Engine
- continental O-470-G, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald L. Strahm
- Registered owner
- Ronald L. Strahm
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 2008
- Departed
- 3GV · Grain Valley, MO
- Destination
- K59 · Atchison, KS
- Airport
- 3GV · East Kansas City Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 28, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,695 total · 990 in this make and model · 5,640 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Observed at
- lxt, 8 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.