Farmingdale Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Farmingdale, New York 11735
Saturday, January 2, 1999 9:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After departure, on a right downwind leg, the passenger noticed that the engine 'began to stall.' The engine lost all power and the pilot was unable to restart it. The pilot established a glide for Runway 32, but the aircraft impacted the ground in a cemetery, approximately 1,800 feet short of Runway 32. According to the pilot's written statement, '[the] engine quit due to ice and water in [the] fuel.' During the preflight, the passenger did not observe the pilot drain fuel from either of the fuel tanks or the main airplane sump drain. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector found that the main fuel bowl of the fuel strainer was contaminated with water, dirt, rust, paint, and sand.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight examination of the airplane, which resulted in a power loss due to fuel contamination.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/2/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City FARMINGDALE
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11735
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport FARMINGDALE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FRG
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 82
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1355 GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID FRG
Elevation of weather observation facility 82
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation GMT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 14000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 2 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1028
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 22 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1857G
NTSB Number NYC99LA044
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
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 Beech
Aircraft Model C-24R
Aircraft Series Identifier C-24R
Aircraft Serial Number MC-767
Certified Max Gross Weight 2750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 2 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 1298
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AIR TRANSPORT CORP.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 65 JOHN STREET
Aircraft Owner City PORT JEFFERSON
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11776
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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 FRG
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 22 2001 4:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 6827
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --