- Date
- June 23, 1989, 20:30 local (Jun 24, 1989, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Middletown, OH
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1961PPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890623021619A
- Case key
- 14372
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
Fuel starvation from improper movement of the fuel selector by the pilot and his improper use of emergency procedures during the attempted engine restart. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of experience in this type of aircraft and the terrain condition (barley crop).
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 plt rprtd that drg flt at 1500 ft, he reached for the elevator trim & inadvertently rotated the fuel selector to one of the off positions. The eng then lost power from fuel starvation. The plt established a glide to a nearby field & attempted to restart the eng. However, he had difficulty maintaining speed drg the emergency apch & elected to concentrate on flying the acft. When he landed in a barley field, the wheels contacted the crop & the acft nosed over. The plt rprtd he had a total of 3 hrs of flt time in this make & model of acft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1961P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4190
- Airframe hours
- 2,388
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hogan Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 18, 1988 · 74 hours before
- Departed
- MWO · Middletown, OH
- Destination
- MWO
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
- 18
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 113 total · 3 in this make and model · 81 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CVG, 29 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.
Other investigations on N1961P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.