# NTSB SEA04LA121: Exp Acft Assn Wi Chapter 60 Moni, N87TW, Rochester, WA, July 4, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 3, 2004, 17:30 local (Jul 4, 2004, 00:30 UTC) - Place: Rochester, WA - Coordinates: 46.824722, -123.035835 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.8247&lon=-123.0358&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 3, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59556 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA04LA121 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59556/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA04LA121 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by failing to refuel, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power during descent. Factors contributing to the accident included the pilot's lack of experience in the aircraft and the tree. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, descent - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - lack of experience, pilot in command (contributing factor) - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing - In flight collision with object, emergency landing - object - tree(s) (contributing factor) ## Analysis The flight was for familiarization purposes. The pilot, who had five hours in the airplane, at first said he didn't remember checking the fuel level, but subsequently said he added 3 gallons to the 4 gallon tank prior to departing on the first leg of a two-leg flight. While en route on the second leg of the flight at 3,500 feet agl, the pilot did one engine shutdown and an air start before the engine quit. An attempt to restart the engine failed, necessitating a forced landing to a 1,800 foot long, 100 foot wide grass airstrip. After misjudging his pattern and being 500 feet too high, the pilot used spoilers and a slipping maneuver to lose altitude. At mid field and 40 above ground level, the pilot elected to turn left 45 degrees and land in a hay field, rather than risk impacting a house located at the end of the airstrip. The airplane subsequently impacted a tree with its right wing, hit flat and sideways before coming to rest upright after having continued to rotate clockwise approximately 120 degrees. ## Factual narrative On July 3, 2004, approximately 1730 Pacific daylight time, an Experimental Aircraft Association WI Chapter 60 experimental airplane, N87TW, was substantially damaged while maneuvering to landing, near Rochester, Washington. The airplane is registered to and operated by a private individual. The private pilot, sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed from the Olympia Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, at 1600, with a destination of Chehalis, Washington According to the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot reported that prior to leaving on the first leg of the two-leg flight from Chehalis (CLS), Washington, to OLM, and then returning to CLS, he added 3 gallons of fuel to the 4 gallon tank, which would equate to 1.5 hours of flying time, plus 30 minutes for reserve. The pilot stated that after landing at OLM he checked the fuel and observed that he had used less than 1/2 of the original 3 gallons. The pilot reported that after departing OLM he noticed two airports along his route which would be suitable for future emergency landing sites, Skatter Creek Airport (20WA) and the R & K Skyranch Airport (8W9). The pilot further reported making a "bad decision" by spending "too much air time at 3,500 feet," and "...I just spaced out on the limited fuel on board." The pilot stated that while he was south of 20WA he did one engine shutdown, glided, did an air start and more air work, "...then the fuel tank ran dry." The pilot related that after an attempt to restart the engine failed he headed for 20WA, a 1,800 foot long, 100 foot wide grass airstrip. The pilot stated, "I set up a pattern but misjudged [it] and was about 500 feet too high. 'Ok, use spoilers and slips to get down, but fly it in tight so I have extra altitude. Not enough experience in this beast.' Well, I botched the whole approach; too high and too fast. At mid field and 40 feet above ground level I knew I was going to end up smack against the house and fence ahead at the west end of the field." The pilot reported that there was an unmowed hay field located 45 degrees to the left, which he turned towards, but the airplane's right wing impacted a tree at about eight feet above the ground which he didn't see due to the raised right wing. "The tree slowed me down, rotated the airplane clockwise 90 degrees, so it hit the ground flat going sideways. It continued rotating, ending with about 120 degrees of rotation." In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) conducted three days after the accident on July 6, 2004, the pilot stated that the flight was for familiarization purposes, that he had only 5 hours in the airplane, and that he didn't remember checking the fuel level prior to the flight. The pilot reported damage to the airplane included leading edge damage to the right wing front spar, the left wing tip and left aileron. The underside of the fuselage was wrinkled behind the cockpit area. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N87TW](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N87TW-2021-05-28), registration cancelled 2021-05-28, S/N 49, built 1986 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Exp Acft Assn WI Chapter 60 MONI - Registry model: [EXP Acft Assn Wi Chapter 60 MONI](https://openairdocs.org/model/exp-acft-assn-wi-chapter-60-moni) (registry code 056596K) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 49 - Airframe hours: 18.3 - Engines: KFM 107 30 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Leland H. Thornburg - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, June 5, 2003, 6.1 hours before - Departed: OLM, Olympia, WA - Destination: CLS, Chehalis, WA - Airport: 20WA, Skatter Creek Airport, runway 25, 1,800 × 100 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 69; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review October 12, 2003; seat: center; flight hours: 217 total, 6 in this make and model, 176 as pilot in command, 8 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: OLM, 12 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040703011889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040703011889A), Jul 3, 2004: Amtr MONI, Rochester Wa, Substantial damage. (-23) Mr. Thornburg ran out of fuel enroute from olympia to chehalis, he then attempted to make a landing at scatter Creek airport which is a private airport.… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.