General Mitchell Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207
Wednesday, January 17, 1996 17:59 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying at night, over Lake Michigan, in IFR conditions when he informed Milwaukee Approach that the engine had quit. He was 20 miles northeast of Milwaukee. He was able to glide about 12 miles before impacting the water. The body of the pilot and airplane were recovered about two months after the accident. Examination of the engine driven fuel pump revealed that a 3/4 inch rubber washer was restricting the fuel flow through the outflow valve of the pump. Airworthiness Directive (AD) 93-11-11 states that the remanufactured fuel pump was to be replaced before the next flight in order 'to prevent disruption of fuel flow to the engine, which can result in a loss of engine power.' The AD had not been complied with.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Inadequate maintenance and inspection in that the Airworthiness Directive which applied to the fuel pump had not been complied with. A factor was the pilot was unable to reach land.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/17/1996
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1759
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MILWAUKEE
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53207
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GENERAL MITCHELL INTL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MKE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 9
Degrees magnetic from airport 70
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1810 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 250
Weather Observation Facility ID MKE
Elevation of weather observation facility 723
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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 --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 379
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 17 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2223
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:46AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3326Q
NTSB Number CHI96FA113
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-32
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-7780305
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 194
Airframe Hours 5140
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EGBERT W. VOLKBERT
Aircraft Owner Street Address N6227 HIGHWAY N
Aircraft Owner City PORTAGE
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 53901
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code GRR
Departure City GRAND RAPIDS
Departure State MI
Departure Country
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MSN
Destination City MADISON
Destination State WI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --