Bellanca 17-30 N70EC

Summary

On 4 July 1997 at about 18:30 local time, a Bellanca 17-30 registered N70EC was involved in an accident near Prescott, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 1997 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Prescott, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Prescott (PRC)

Coordinates

34.6196, -112.4204

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-30

Registration

N70EC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Quartzsite → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97LA238

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper placement of the unmarked fuel selector valve to off which resulted in fuel starvation. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in this model aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was entering the airport for runway 21 when the tower cleared him to land on runway 30 instead. The pilot said he attempted to add power to extend his approach when the engine seemed to drop to idle. In an attempt to land on runway 21 he extended his landing gear but touched down approximately 60 feet short of the runway. The pilot stated he had 45 gallons of fuel in the airplane before takeoff. It was determined during the postcrash aircraft examination that the fuel selector had no noticeable detent when it was moved from position to position. Additionally, the placards were not legible on the fuel selector. There was no visible fuel found in the left auxiliary tank, and only a trace in the right auxiliary tank. A stick test determined that there was approximately 4 inches of fuel in the right and left main tank. During the postaccident examination of the engine, there were no abnormalities found that would have prevented the engine from being run.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.