Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kenmare, North Dakota 58746
Thursday, July 4, 1996 21:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he 'was returning to the airport when the engine quit. I attempted to turn left to land into the wind and to avoid a road and a power line in front of the airplane. The airplane contacted the ground in a nose down and left wing down position, and then pivoted 180 degrees to point straight north.' Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of fuel in the airplane. No evidence of fuel was found at the site. The pilot stated that he did not know how much fuel he had in the airplane. He said that his normal fueling procedure was to fuel until the automatic shut-off on the fueling nozzle cut off. The pilot said that he could not track how much fuel he put into the airplane, because he fueled the airplane from his own 100 gallon tank which did not have a meter.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper refueling procedure, inadequate preflight and the inadvertent stall. A factor related to the accident was the low altitude at which the loss of power occurred.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2140
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City KENMARE
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58746
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2148 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID MOT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1715
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 800
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1670
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) 383
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 6 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7730Z
NTSB Number CHI96LA228
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-25-235
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-25-235
Aircraft Serial Number 25-3904
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 26 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 100
Airframe Hours 5185
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HENRY L. BODMER, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 326
Aircraft Owner City KENMARE
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58746
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 Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code ND26
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 2015
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 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 --