Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Antonio, Texas 78216
Sunday, December 18, 1994 15:50 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE AIRCRAFT LOST POWER WHILE DESCENDING APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES NORTH OF SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SAT). AFTER THE LOSS OF POWER, THE PILOT-RATED PASSENGER MANIPULATED THE FLIGHT CONTROLS WHILE THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A RESTART THAT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A GRASSY FIELD ADJACENT TO POWER LINES AND TREES ABOUT 1 1/2 MILES NORTHWEST OF RUNWAY 12L. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE AND ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL ANY STRUCTURAL OR MECHANICAL DEFECTS. TESTING OF THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP ACCESSORY REVEALED THAT IT WAS FLOWING FUEL FROM THE OVERBOARD DRAIN AT A RATE OF 1/2 GALLON PER MINUTE; HOWEVER, IT WAS STILL PUMPING FUEL TO THE ENGINE AT 25 PSI AND 275 LBS/HR. ON SITE EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED USABLE FUEL IN BOTH WING TANKS. TEARDOWN OF THE PUMP REVEALED 'O' RINGS THAT WERE WORN AND DISPLAYED SQUARE CROSS SECTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE INLET SCREEN TO THE FUEL SERVO HAD NON-METALLIC DEBRIS IN THE FITTING AND THE SCREEN WAS OBSERVED TO BE PARTIALLY CLOGGED. THE ANOMALIES FOUND WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM ACCESSORIES WERE INCONCLUSIVE. THE REASON FOR THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE LACK OF A SUITABLE AREA FOR THE FORCED LANDING.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/18/1994
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City SAN ANTONIO
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78216
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1550 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID SAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 809
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1930
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 18 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1957
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 12:44PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N21590
NTSB Number FTW95FA069
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-32RT
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-32RT
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-7887219
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 Nov 6 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 49
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ALBERT W. DENSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2318 CREEKSIDE CIRCLE
Aircraft Owner City IRVING
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75063
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ADS
Departure City DALLAS
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SAT
Destination City
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --