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Atlas / NTSB / ANC12CA047

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ANC12CA047

2012-05-13 Sterling, Alaska, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N615SD

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

MAULE M-4-220C

Engine

FRANKLIN 6A-350-C1 (220 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19710930

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A802E5

Registrant of record

HOLLAND ANDREW K

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to use a preflight checklist and subsequent failure to turn on the airplane's fuel supply, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that he did not use a preflight checklist, and as a result, he did not turn the fuel selector valve to the "ON" position. During the initial climb, the engine lost power, and the airplane impacted terrain, receiving substantial damage to both wings. The pilot said that the accident could have been prevented through the use of a preflight checklist. The pilot stated that he did not use a preflight checklist, and, as a result, he did not turn the fuel selector valve to the "ON" position. During the initial climb, the engine lost power, and the airplane impacted terrain, sustaining substantial damage to both wings. The pilot said that the accident could have been prevented if he had used a preflight checklist. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel selector/shutoff valve-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Inoperative
  • C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_ANC12CA047.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗