Amateur-built Rans S-16 accident near Plattsmouth, Nebraska, August 4, 2006
On August 4, 2006 at about 2:15 pm local time, a amateur-built Rans S-16, registered N116GS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Plattsmouth, Nebraska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation which resulted from a binding within the fuel servo. A factor associated with the accident was the high vegetation that was encountered during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 4, 2006 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Plattsmouth, Nebraska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Rans S-16
- Registration
- N116GS · registry record · serial 1298009
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with rough terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that they were practicing touch and go landings when the engine power decreased by 100 to 150 rpm during takeoff. The pilot confirmed the boost pump position, the mixture setting, and the fuel quantity. He reported that at an altitude of about 500 feet above the ground the engine power decreased smoothly to zero. The pilot reported there were crop fields on both sides of his path with a slew in the middle so he elected to land straight ahead in the slew. The airplane touched down in the four-foot-tall grass at which time the nose and right main landing gears collapsed resulting in structural damage to the airplane. The fuel servo was removed from the airplane and bench tested. The test revealed the servo had a tendency to stick when transitioning between high and low pressure settings.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,400 hours in all; 420 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 4,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PMV Plattsmouth NE
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N116GS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI06CA237.