Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Rexburg-Madison County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
Friday, March 12, 1999 17:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The aircraft, which departed under visual flight rules and received no air traffic services, failed to arrive at its destination airport 9 nautical miles from its point of departure. After approximately two hours of searching, the aircraft wreckage, with the seriously injured pilot inside, was located off the north end of the destination airport runway (17/35). Ground scars observed in the area were consistent with the aircraft impacting short of the runway during a landing attempt to the south. Local police who responded to the crash scene noted fuel in both of the aircraft's fuel tanks, carburetor heat off, and the fuel selector in the OFF position; a local mechanic reported he found about 1/2 teaspoon of fuel in the carburetor float bowl after the accident. The pilot reported the accident occurred about 10 minutes after departure and that he believed the accident was due to 'engine failure due to unknown causes', but he could otherwise remember 'nothing of the flight, the engine problems prompting him to prepare for an emergency landing, or the crash....' A follow-up engine examination disclosed propeller damage consistent with low or no power at impact, but 'found no mechanical reason for the engine to stop running.' Further examination of the aircraft's carburetor disclosed a float valve retractor clip, which was an improper type for the installed float, laying in the bottom of the float bowl chamber. The temperature/dewpoint combination reported at the airport near the reported time of the accident posed a hazard of 'serious [carburetor] icing at glide power', according to FAA data.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/12/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1700 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | REXBURG |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83440 |
| 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 | REXBURG-MADISON COUNTY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RXE |
| 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 | 350 |
| Airport Elevation | 4858 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RXE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4858 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| 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 | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1336 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 12 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 10 2001 10:18AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9578W |
| NTSB Number | SEA99LA043 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-23022 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 19 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 2796 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DB RENTS |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 440 E. 4TH N. |
| Aircraft Owner City | ST. ANTHONY |
| Aircraft Owner State | ID |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 83445 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | DEAN R. HATHAWAY |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | U12 |
| Departure City | ST. ANTHONY |
| Departure State | ID |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1650 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | RXE |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 10 2001 12:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 4200 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |