- Date
- August 4, 2006, 09:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Plattsmouth, NE
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N116GSSpittler Rans S-16
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Lincoln, NE FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060804016969A
- Case key
- 64431
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
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation which resulted from a binding within the fuel servo. A factor associated with the accident was the high vegetation that was encountered during the forced landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane collided with rough terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that they were practicing touch and go landings when the engine power decreased by 100 to 150 rpm during takeoff. The pilot confirmed the boost pump position, the mixture setting, and the fuel quantity. He reported that at an altitude of about 500 feet above the ground the engine power decreased smoothly to zero. The pilot reported there were crop fields on both sides of his path with a slew in the middle so he elected to land straight ahead in the slew. The airplane touched down in the four-foot-tall grass at which time the nose and right main landing gears collapsed resulting in structural damage to the airplane. The fuel servo was removed from the airplane and bench tested. The test revealed the servo had a tendency to stick when transitioning between high and low pressure settings.
Factual narrative
The airplane collided with rough terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported they were practicing touch and go landings when the engine power decreased by 100 to 150 rpm during takeoff. The pilot confirmed the boost pump position, the mixture setting, and the fuel quantity. He reported that at an altitude of about 500 feet above the ground the engine power decreased smoothly to zero. The pilot reported there were crop fields on both sides of his path with a slew in the middle so he elected to land straight ahead in the slew. The airplane touched down in the four foot tall grass at which time the nose and right main landing gears collapsed resulting in structural damage to the airplane. The fuel servo was removed from the airplane and bench tested. The test revealed the servo had a tendency to stick when transitioning between high and low pressure settings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N116GS
- Reported as
- Spittler Rans S-16
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1298009
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard H. Harriman
- Registered owner
- Gerard Spittler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- PMV · Plattsmouth, NE
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 4,400 total · 420 in this make and model · 4,400 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N116GS · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.