Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Gwinnett County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045
Saturday, October 9, 2010 14:07 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses reported that the pilot had removed the engine cowling prior to the accident flight and was performing maintenance on the engine. They observed the airplane depart from the runway and noted that it sounded as if it was not producing full power. The airplane then oscillated, banked left, and impacted a road with the left wing down. Examination of the engine revealed the nut on the bottom of the gascolator was not safety wired and was loose, allowing air into the fuel system. Additionally, the gascolator bowl, carburetor bowl, and float needle valve were heavily rusted and corroded. The fuel line from the wing fuel tanks to the fuel pump had been blocked off with a rubber hose, making the only fuel available to the engine, the six gallons in the header tank. The pilot's son reported that prior to the accident, the pilot performed maintenance on the airplane due to a fuel problem. The pilot's son believed the problem was resolved and the pilot last flew the airplane about a week prior to the accident in the local area. According to the maintenance logbooks, the most recent inspection was completed on the airplane 10 months prior to the accident. Examination of the pilot's logbook revealed his only flight in the accident airplane was a 30-minute flight 6 days prior to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Inadequate maintenance performed on the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the corrosion within the carburetor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/9/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1407 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lawrenceville |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30045 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335841N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0835744W |
| Event Location Airport | Gwinnett County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LZU |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1061 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1406 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LZU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1061 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28497 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Local Authorities |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 6 2011 10:22AM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N89331 |
| NTSB Number | ERA11LA014 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | ENGINEERING & RESEARCH |
| Aircraft Model | ERCOUPE 415-D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3269 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 12 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1829 |
| Airframe Hours | 1828 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BLAKE TIMOTHY Q |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4980 POPLAR SPRINGS CIR |
| Aircraft Owner City | GAINESVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30507-8882 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | BLAKE TIMOTHY Q |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | GAINESVILLE |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30507-8882 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | LZU |
| Departure City | Lawrenceville |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1350 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | LZU |
| Destination City | Lawrenceville |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 1 2011 3:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 25 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |