Skip to content

GAA17CA260

2017-05-02 · Olathe, Kansas, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OJC

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The separated fuel tank selector knob roll pin, which prevented the fuel selector from moving to the fuel tank position for the tank with usable fuel and resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent total loss of engine power.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the initial climb, about 1,000 ft above the ground, he "saw the engine power winding down." He added that he "turned on" the boost pump, checked the magnetos and fuel mixture, and then switched the fuel selector to the other fuel tank. The engine experienced a total loss of power and then impacted the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that he traveled to the accident, and while on-site, he observed that the fuel selector knob set screw was loose and that the knob turned freely on the shaft. The set screw doesn’t keep the knob keyed; it just stops it from coming off. A roll pin keeps the shaft in position and was observed in the selector well. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel selector/shutoff valve-Malfunction - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2017_GAA17CA260.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers