- Date
- February 25, 2001, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Newberg, OR
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N230VGGibbs V-6 Stol
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Portland FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010225001639A
- Case key
- 51817
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 pilot's mismanagement of his available fuel, the fuel starvation of the engine, and the pilot's excessive rate of descent during the touchdown portion of a power-off 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
While en route, the pilot decided to burn the selected (right) tank down to two gallons. As he continued toward his destination, he forgot to switch to the other tank, and the right tank ran dry. During the attempted power-off forced landing that followed, the pilot landed hard, collapsing the main gear and substantially damaging the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On February 25, 2001, approximately 1430 Pacific standard time, an experimental Gibbs V-6 STOL, N230VG, experienced a gear collapse during a hard off-field forced landing near Chehalem Airstrip, Newberg, Oregon. The private pilot and his four passengers were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Toledo State Airport, Newport, Oregon, about 30 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the pilot, he was planning to burn the right tank down to about two gallons and then switch to the other tank. While en route, he forgot to change the selector to the other tank, and as he turned base in the VFR pattern for Chehalem, the engine lost power and the propeller stopped turning. The pilot switched to the left tank, which was about one-half full, but was unable to get the engine started prior to reaching an altitude at which it was necessary to abandon the restart attempt and concentrate on making a forced landing. During the forced landing attempt, the pilot allowed the aircraft to descend into the ground at an excessive rate, resulting in a collapse of the main gear. A post-accident inspection of the right tank found that it was empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N230VG
- Reported as
- Gibbs V-6 Stol
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Airframe hours
- 116
- Engine
- Ford 3.8 Liter V-6, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Vern L. Gibbs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 21, 2001 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- 5S4 · Newport, OR
- Destination
- 17S · Newberg, OR
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 22, 1999
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 295 total · 116 in this make and model · 295 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.