- Date
- December 17, 2022, 11:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cottonwood, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9YARoyse Ralph L Glasair
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20221217019159A
- Case key
- 106496
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 fuel mismanagement which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, during the takeoff, the fuel tank selector was mistakenly set to the auxiliary tank. Five minutes later the auxiliary tank ran out of gas, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. The pilot switched to the main tank; however, there was insufficient altitude available for a recovery. The airplane struck terrain about 100 ft short of the runway, which substantially damaged the left and right wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9YA
- Reported as
- Royse Ralph L Glasair
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 582R
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 2,327
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-B1A, 160 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 29, 2022 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- RDD · Redding, CA
- Airport
- CA04 · Flying N Ranch Airport, runway 16, 2,600 × 150 ft, dirt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Handheld GPS
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
- 77
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 3,094 total · 190 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 0 ft
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KRDD, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KRDD 171753Z 35006KT 10SM CLR 09/M03 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP208 T00891033 10089 21017 52006=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.