Naples Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Naples, Florida 34101
Saturday, March 6, 1999 12:10 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight was in the traffic pattern and the pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. The pilot reported that he had completed a touch-and-go on runway 14, and on climb out was assigned a right hand traffic pattern. On crosswind the airplane's engine lost complete power. The pilot said, '...I pitched down and tried to restart the engine, on either tank using both the starter and windmilling.' He attempted to make a forced landing to a golf course, but decided on a road, because there were people on the golf course. The airplane landed on the road gear up, heading southbound, skidded forward, and the right wing struck two mailboxes. The airplane continued forward striking a tree, and separating a portion of the right wing. Examination of the wreckage revealed that there was no fuel in the right main tank. No fuel was found in the carburetor, and the fuel selector was found in the 'OFF' position. About 10 gallons of fuel were found in the left tank. The left fuel system operated without discrepancies, and fuel flowed from the tank. No broken fuel lines were found, and the engine displayed no discrepancies. The airplane flew 1.7 hours before the flight on March 6, 1999. The airplane was last refueled on February 11, 1999. The FAA inspector wrote in his report, '...subsequent fuel calculations revealed that at the time of the accident, the right fuel tank would have been empty of usable fuel.' In addition the pilot said, '...that when the engine failed...that he had been flying on the right tank for approximately 45 minutes prior to the accident. He also stated that he tried to select the left fuel tank but it is possible that he may have selected the 'Off' position inadvertently.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper procedure by not placing the fuel selector on the tank with the most fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and a off airport forced landing. Contributing factors in this accident were the pilot's inadequate pre-flight and in-flight planning.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/6/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1210
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City NAPLES
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34101
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport NAPLES MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID APF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 200
Airport Elevation 10
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1215 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID APF
Elevation of weather observation facility 10
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 70
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 6 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:06AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3588X
NTSB Number MIA99LA100
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 Mooney
Aircraft Model 20G
Aircraft Series Identifier 20G
Aircraft Serial Number 680157
Certified Max Gross Weight 2525
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 30 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 94
Airframe Hours 6960
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name OWLIAEI BAHRAM
Aircraft Owner Street Address 270 MONTEREY DR.
Aircraft Owner City NAPLES
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34119
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name GULF COAST AIRWAYS
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address NAPLES AIRPORT
Operator City NAPLES
Operator State FL
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 34119
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code APF
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
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 --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:06AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --