Henry County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Napoleon, Ohio 43545
Thursday, July 17, 1997 15:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the initial climb after takeoff, the engine lost power, and the pilot performed a forced landing. The pilot stated that the airplane did not experience any problems prior to the loss of power, and that the fuel selector valve was set to 'BOTH.' During the preflight, he visually checked the fuel gages, which incorporated a 'gray area' to indicate an inadequate fuel load for takeoff. Fuel gage indications were 'just above the gray area.' Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of a fuel spill, nor any mechanical malfunction. The right fuel tank was empty, and the left fuel tank contained about 1/2 gallon of fuel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to take off with inadequate fuel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/17/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City NAPOLEON
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43545
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HENRY COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OH17
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 683
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1551 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID TOL
Elevation of weather observation facility 623
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2650
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 --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1764
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 18 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2550N
NTSB Number NYC97LA147
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 120
Aircraft Series Identifier 120
Aircraft Serial Number 12806
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 10 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 44
Airframe Hours 3616
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN J THOMPSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 22-015 US 6
Aircraft Owner City NAPOLEON
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43545
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 OH17
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1550
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 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 28
Runway Length 4500
Runway Width 65
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --