Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mccomb, Mississippi 39648
Thursday, October 31, 1996 14:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot requested that the aircraft be fueled with 40 gallons of 100LL avgas. The lineman fueled the aircraft with 40 gallons of Jet-A fuel. This made the total fuel on board about 80 gallons (about a 50 percent to 50 percent mixture of avgas and Jet-A). The pilot signed the fuel receipt, which indicated Jet-A fuel, and then departed. The lineman did not observe the pilot perform a preflight inspection. Both engines lost power after takeoff, and a forced landing was made in a field. The aircraft was equipped with restricted fuel ports to prevent this type of misfueling; however, the fuel pump (from which N120JD was fueled) was not equipped with the respective large size nozzle that was designed to prevent the problem.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the lineman's fueling of the aircraft with the wrong type fuel, the pilot's failure to verify the type of fuel added to the aircraft before flight, and failure of the refueling facility to be equipped with the proper fuel nozzle.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 10/31/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MCCOMB
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 39648
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1420 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID MCB
Elevation of weather observation facility 400
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
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) 2000
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 5024
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 31 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1653
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 N120JD
NTSB Number MIA97IA016
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-31-350
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-31-350
Aircraft Serial Number 31-8152179
Certified Max Gross Weight 7000
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 7
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 3 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 141
Airframe Hours 4101
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SOHO AIR, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4801 FLORIDA AVE.
Aircraft Owner City NEW ORLEANS
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 70117
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) Executive/Corporate
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MCB
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NEW
Destination City NEW ORLEANS
Destination State LA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
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 --