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SEA86LA187 · Boeing PT13/17

31 Jul 1986 · Vancouver, WA, United States

Boeing PT13/17 · Accident: partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure) while maneuvering

From 59S · Vancouver, WA to 0S6 · Orchards, WA

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Event

NTSB case
SEA86LA187
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Boeing PT13/17

Aircraft type
Boeing PT13
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N1307N
Operator
Robert E. Burton · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From 59S · Vancouver, WATo 0S6 · Orchards, WA
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering · turn to landing area (emergency)
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Partial loss of engine power (mechanical failure)
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Fuel exhaustion
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Fuel supply, misjudged
  • Pilot in command › Precautionary landing, delayed
  • Pilot in command › Proper alignment, not possible

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PLT REPORTED THE ENGINE STARTED RUNNING ROUGH NEAR WOODLAND, WASHINGTON AND AN APPROACH WAS SET UP, BUT DUE TO MANY AIRCRAFT IN THE PATTERN THE PILOT ELECTED TO GO TO SCAPPOSE, WASHINGTON (ABOUT 10 NM SOUTH OF WOODLAND). AT SCAPPOSE, WASHINGTON THE PILOT NOTED 'X'S' ON THE RUNWAY AND DECIDED TO TRY TO MAKE IT TO EVERGREEN (17 NM SE OF SCAPPOSE). ENROUTE TO EVERGREEN THE ENGINE QUIT AND A FORCED LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED TO CLARK COUNTY. THE ACFT BOUNCED OFF THE ROOF OF THE RESTAURANT AND CAME TO REST INVERTED BESIDE THE BLDG. A CERTIFIED A&P MECHANIC REMOVED AND VISUALLY TESTED THE SIGHT FUEL GAUGE. THE FUEL LEVEL INDICATOR (CORK FLOAT) MOVED FREELY FROM THE FULL POSITION TO A POINT (IN THE GAUGE) WHERE ABOUT 10 GALLONS WOULD BE INDICATED AND BECAME STUCK AT THAT POINT. THE PLT REPORTED THE FUEL GAUGE HAD BEEN 'VISUALLY CALIBRATED' AT THE LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record SEA86LA187
Event ID
20001213X34348
Case number
SEA86LA187
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 27d53865e43866ae56e353081d046d2c592703bd9984f840495bed5f57b1a500; retrieved 2026-09-23T14:12:38.105Z.