Bellanca 17-30 N7305V

Summary

On 20 July 1985 at about 19:33 local time, a Bellanca 17-30 registered N7305V, operated by Viking, Ltd., was involved in an accident near San Andreas, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 July 1985 at 19:33

Classification

Accident

Location

San Andreas, California, United States

Coordinates

38.2001, -120.6191

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-30

Registration

N7305V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Viking, Ltd.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pacoima → Columbia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX85LA324

1 person was seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT TOOK OFF ON A 2 HR FLT WITH ABOUT 6 HRS OF FUEL ON BOARD. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DURING THE FLT, HE REPOSITIONED THE FUEL SELECTOR HANDLE. HE STATED THAT WHEN HE MADE A VERY SHALLOW TURN TO THE RIGHT, NEAR HIS DESTINATION, THE ENG SUDDENLY LOST POWER. HE ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE ENG BY SWITCHING THE FUEL SELECTOR TO VARIOUS POSITIONS, BUT POWER WAS NOT RESTORED. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO GLIDE TO THE NEAREST ARPT, BUT HAD INSUFFICIENT ALT. SUBSEQUENTLY, HE LANDED THE ACFT IN A FIELD WITH THE GEAR RETRACTED. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT REVEALED NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED NORMAL OPERATION OF THE ENG. APRX 37 GAL OF FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE FOUR FUEL TANKS. THE LEFT MAIN FUEL TANK WAS FOUND TO BE EMPTY, BUT FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE OTHER TANKS. ONE TANK WAS VIRTUALLY FULL; ONE WAS ABOUT 1/2 FULL; THE OTHER WAS ABOUT 10% FULL.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.