Terry W Thayer ZENITH STOL CH701 N957TT

Summary

On 18 August 2014 at about 21:30 local time, a Terry W Thayer ZENITH STOL CH701 registered N957TT was involved in an accident near Nikiski, Alaska, United States. One person was 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

18 August 2014 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Nikiski, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.7644, -151.8905

Aircraft

Terry W Thayer ZENITH STOL CH701

Registration

N957TT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nikiski → Nikiski

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC14LA065

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper positioning of the fuel selector valves, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to follow preflight checklists.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was departing from a remote, off-airport site in an experimental amateur-built airplane. He stated that just after takeoff, as the airplane reached about 50 feet above ground level, the engine lost all power. The pilot then attempted to land the airplane near the departure end of the site, but, with insufficient airspeed or altitude to transition to a landing attitude, the airplane landed hard and sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. According to the pilot, he had turned the airplane's fuel valves to the "off" position after the previous landing, and he failed to move the fuel valves into the "on" position before departure. He also noted that he did not use the preflight checklist. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.