- Date
- June 17, 1994, 14:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Tomahawk, WI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8218RBellanca 17-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940617015639A
- Case key
- 9572
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 an undetermined reason. Factors in the accident were the lack of suitable terrain in preventing the pilot from making a safe 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 pilot and three passengers were on a local pleasure flight when the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that the engine sputtered and lost power approximately fifteen minutes into the flight and five minutes after he had switched fuel tanks. All attempts to restart the engine failed. The airplane struck trees before impacting a swamp. The airplane remained under water in the swamp for approximately three months until the pilot was able to make arrangements to have the wreckage removed. Postaccident investigation revealed no mechanical malfunctions. The amount of remaining fuel could not accurately be determined at the time of examination due to the length of time which the airplane remained in the swamp.
Factual narrative
On June 17, 1994, about 1445 central daylight time, a Bellanca 17-30, N8218R, was destroyed following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing in a swamp near Tomahawk, Wisconsin. No injuries were reported by the commercial pilot, minor injuries were reported by two passengers, and serious injuries were reported by one passenger. The local pleasure flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions without flight plan.
The flight originated from Green Bay, Wisconsin, on the day before the accident and flew a total of one hour. The pilot reported that on the day of the accident, approximately fifteen minutes after departing Tomahawk, Wisconsin, the engine sputtered and quit about five minutes after he had switched fuel tanks. All attempts to restart the engine failed. The airplane struck trees before impacting a swamp. The airplane remained in the swamp for approximately three months before the pilot was able to make arrangements to have the wreckage removed.
Postaccident investigation revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction. The amount of remaining fuel could not accurately be determined at the time of examination due to the length of time which the airplane remained in the swamp.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8218R
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30433
- Airframe hours
- 1,760
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-K, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kevin T. Yatso
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 26
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,300 total · 20 in this make and model · 1,220 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.