Clarke YAK 3UR 2000 accident near Heber City, Utah, July 9, 2005
On July 9, 2005 at about 3:15 pm local time, a Clarke YAK 3UR 2000, registered N134US, was substantially damaged in an accident near Heber City, Utah (Heber City Mun.-Russ Mcdonald airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
loss of engine power due to a leaking carburetor and an inoperative float, and the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the restart attempt. Contributing factors were the sudden engine power surge during the attempted restart, and unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 2005 · about 3:15 pm local time
- Place
- Heber City, Utah · Heber City Mun.-Russ Mcdonald · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Clarke YAK 3UR 2000
- Registration
- N134US · registry record · serial DMC0003
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
When the airplane turned downwind, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, and it surged suddenly. The torque caused the airplane to roll inverted. The pilot managed to roll the airplane upright, but was unable to restart the engine and he made a forced landing on airport property, striking the ground hard and substantially damaging the airplane. Examination and tesing of the carburetor revealed the enrichment cover was leaking, and there was "a substantial leak" at one of the vapor vent ports. One of the vapor vent floats was not functioning. When the vapor vent port was plugged, the carburetor tested between 7 and 22 pounds per hour above the rich limit.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 23,800 hours in all; 125 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: October 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 115 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2005; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,799 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R 2000 7M2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EUL Caldwell ID at 1:45 pm
- Destination: 36U Heber City UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 3:15 pm from PVU
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.
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 DEN05LA106.