# NTSB WPR22LA202: Fischer Super Koala, Chelan, WA, June 5, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: June 5, 2022, 12:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Chelan, WA - Coordinates: 47.902199, -119.89787 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.9022&lon=-119.8979&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - SAIBs cited in the narratives: [SAIB CE-09-35](https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-09-35) (OpenAirDocs) - NTSB case key (mKey): 105219 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR22LA202 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105219/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105219 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22LA202 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action selection](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 397 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Attempted remediation/recovery](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,422 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis While making a crosswind turn in a non-registered airplane, the engine sustained a total loss of power. The pilot checked to ensure the throttle setting was at maximum power and that the ignition switch was ON, but the engine did not restart. He initiated a forced landing to an off-airport site where the fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot had previously conducted significant maintenance on the fuel system; however, all the maintained components were found to be in functional condition. Components vital to the investigation were removed and unavailable for examination, which precluded a complete and through investigation of the fuel system. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Environmental conditions at the time of the accident were not conducive to carburetor icing. ## Factual narrative On June 5, 2022, about 1230 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Super Koala airplane with no registration was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chelan, Washington. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, on the day of the accident he ran the airplane’s engine up to full speed three times, lasting about ten minutes each time. He departed from the runway and stayed in the traffic pattern at an altitude of about 2,200 ft mean sea level (msl). During a turn to the crosswind leg, the engine lost total power and the propeller continued to windmill. The pilot verified the throttle was at the maximum power setting and that the ignition switch was on. Shortly after, he initiated a force landing to an off-airport field about 600 ft west of the airpark. The airplane nosed over and came to rest on a hillside covered in vegetation and rocks. The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage. All major components remained attached to the airframe except for a section of the wooden propeller blade. Figure 1. Airplane immediately after the accident. Photo courtesy of the pilot. The pilot purchased the airplane about 6 weeks before the accident. He had performed maintenance on the airplane that included overhauling the carburetors, installing a new impulse fuel pump, cleaning out the fuel tank, and replacing the fuel lines. He reported about 3.5 gallons of fuel on board at the beginning of the run ups and about 2 gallons remained in the tank after the accident. A postaccident examination was conducted. The wings and fuel tank were removed from the airport without approval from the IIC and not made available for examination. Detailed information, such as unusable fuel quantities could not be determined. Examination of the carburetors revealed a small amount of a sticky substance on the brass mount for the main jet and inside the plenum for the main jet; however, the main jet and the pilot jet passages were clean and not blocked. The airframe, engine, electrical, and available fuel system components exhibited no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, revealed that environmental conditions conducive to carburetor icing did not exist in the area at the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Fischer Super Koala - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: SK001S - Year built: 1987 - Airframe hours: 115 - Engines: Rotax 532 UL 60 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: 91WT, Riverview Airport, runway 36, 1,889 × 40 ft, asphalt - Equipment: None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 26, 2021; seat: single; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 484 total, 1 in this make and model, 484 as pilot in command, 16.8 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 29.67 inHg - Observed at: KEAT, 33 nm away - METAR: KEAT 051955Z AUTO 09004KT 10SM VCTS FEW100 SCT120 18/13 A2967 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S AND W SLP043 T01780128 ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 18, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105219. 9.5 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14121629&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120_1%20WPR22LA202_redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 769 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14121996&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20for%20WPR22LA202-Rel.pdf - Accident site survey (item 3, PDF, 7 pages, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16967101&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Site%20Survey%20WPR22LA202-Rel.pdf - Airframe and engine examination report (item 4, PDF, 16 pages, 3.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16350164&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Airframe%20and%20Engine%20Examination%20Report-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 84 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16033967&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ROC%20Pilot%20Statement-Rel.pdf - FAA SAIB-CE-09-35 (item 6, PDF, 16 pages, 218 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16009243&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CE-09-35-Rel.pdf 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.