Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Elyria Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elyria, Ohio 44035
Saturday, December 7, 1996 16:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he had departed Elyria with 12 to 13 gallons of fuel in each of the outboard tanks and 25 gallons in each of the inboard tanks. He did not refuel at Carrollton prior to the return flight to Elyria. Upon his arrival back at the original airport, the pilot entered the traffic pattern and noticed the manifold pressure on the left engine was higher than on the right engine. He stated that he was distracted by sun glare and executed a go-around. After extending out from the departure end of the runway, the pilot executed 180-degree turn to land on the runway in the opposite direction. The left engine began to run rough as the pilot aligned the airplane for landing. The pilot reported that the airplane's airspeed dropped below Vmc as he looked for the runway. The pilot could not remember anything else prior to impacting the terrain. Examination of the wreckage revealed the following fuel quantities: left inboard - no visible fuel, left outboard - 1 inch of fuel on stick placed in tank, right inboard - 2 inches below full, and right outboard - 1 inch below full. The pilot reported that he had remained on the inboard tanks during the entire trip.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's fuel mismanagement which led to fuel starvation to one engine, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/7/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1630 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | ELYRIA |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 44035 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | ELYRIA |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IGI |
| 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 | 760 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 22G |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 794 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| 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 | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1994 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 8 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1900 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4911P |
| NTSB Number | IAD97LA029 |
| 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-23-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-23-250 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 27-502 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4800 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 5 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 25 |
| Airframe Hours | 3220 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | HARRY J. WOLTZ |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 322 HAMILTON CIRCLE |
| Aircraft Owner City | ELYRIA |
| Aircraft Owner State | OH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 44035 |
| 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 | TSO |
| Departure City | CARROLLTON |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1600 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 1G1 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| 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 | 9 |
| Runway Length | 3052 |
| Runway Width | 48 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |