Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Smithville, Tennessee 37166
Sunday, October 27, 1996 14:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight departed on runway 24, and shortly after crossing the end of the runway, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot transmitted on the unicom frequency that he had a problem and was turning back. The aircraft was observed at about 200 feet agl in a steep left bank. After reaching a northeasterly heading, the nose and left wing of the aircraft dropped, and the aircraft descended nose first into a wooded area where it crashed. A postcrash fire erupted and consumed the fuselage and left wing. Postcrash examination of the aircraft showed no evidence of pre-crash mechanical failure or malfunction of the aircraft structure or flight control system. Examination of the engine and propeller showed the wooden propeller blades had no rotational damage. No evidence of pre-crash mechanical failure of the engine was found. The pilot did not have a current FAA medical certificate or current biennial flight review. The aircraft last received an annual inspection on 6/12/94.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of engine power for undetermined reason(s), shortly after takeoff; and failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, while turning in an attempt to maneuver back to the airport, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and uncontrolled descent into wooded terrain. The pilot's attempt to return to the departure airport was a probable factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/27/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City SMITHVILLE
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37166
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 10
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 1353 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID BNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 599
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 45
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 15000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
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) 1500
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) 1494
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 27 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N74306
NTSB Number MIA97FA014
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bellanca
Aircraft Model 14-13-2
Aircraft Series Identifier 14-13-2
Aircraft Serial Number 1419
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 12 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 2522
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN R. BONO
Aircraft Owner Street Address 112 JUNIPER LANE
Aircraft Owner City SMITHVILLE
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37166
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 0A3
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1429
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code M54
Destination City LEBANON
Destination State TN
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
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 --