Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Double Springs Winston Co Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Double Springs, Alabama 35553
Wednesday, August 23, 1995 12:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses observed the airplane on a downwind leg for landing. They believed that the airplane then turned right onto a base leg. During the turn, one engine quit, the airplane rolled, and the nose dropped to a near vertical attitude. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane impacted in the same attitude. There was no evidence of fuel having been spilled from the left wing tanks. An examination of the right engine indicated there was rotation of the right propeller at impact; also, there was minimal fuel spillage from the right wing tanks. The estimated time en route for the planned flight was 5.4 hours. Investigation revealed that the flight's duration was 4.5 hours, which equated to the calculated fuel endurance of the airplane with its 93 gallon fuel capacity. According to the pilot's logbook, his previous flight in a multiengined airplane was on 8/26/94. The pilot did not report any mechanical difficulty with the aircraft during the flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
failure of the pilot to follow emergency procedures for loss of engine power, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation and improper fuel consumption calculations, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and his lack of recent multiengine flight experience.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/1995 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1200 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | DOUBLE SPRINGS |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35553 |
| Event Date Year | 1995 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | DOUBLE SPRINGS WINSTON CO |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3M2 |
| 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 | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 753 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1151 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 350 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MSL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 550 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 40 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| 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 | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | FAA |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1621 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 27 1995 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1346 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2000 4:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N15866 |
| NTSB Number | ATL95FA162 |
| 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-34-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-34-200 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 34-1350102 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 28 1995 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 4798 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PAUL G. SMITH |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | ROUTE 1 BOX 149E |
| Aircraft Owner City | NORMAN |
| Aircraft Owner State | OK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 73072 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | OK14 |
| Departure City | GOLDSBY |
| Departure State | OK |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 730 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GAD |
| Destination City | GADSDEN |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 3 |
| Runway Length | 3403 |
| Runway Width | 78 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |