Shelbyville Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Shelbyville, Indiana 46176
Monday, August 11, 1997 14:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was conducting a ferry flight of the airplane since it had not received an annual maintenance inspection since November 15, 1994. Shortly after takeoff, he detected a fuel odor and returned to inspect the airplane. No fuel leaks were detected. Five minutes after the second takeoff, he felt drops of fuel falling from an area near the right wing overhead fuel line. Fuel appeared to be leaking into the cockpit around the fabric patch surrounding the main fuel inlet line. During the base-to-final turn, a large quantity of fuel poured into the cockpit. The pilot made a short field landing and turned off the magnetos and shut off the fuel control handle during landing rollout. He exited the airplane and tried to push the airplane off the runway. The fuel ignited and the airplane was engulfed in flames within seconds. An examination of the fuel system revealed that the right wing fuel tank's fuel line located at the forward inboard area was completely disconnected. The fuel line incorporated a flare type fitting that appeared to have come unscrewed from its receptacle.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the inadequate preflight by the pilot and the loose fuel line fitting.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/11/1997
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City SHELBYVILLE
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46176
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SHELBYVILLE MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3SM
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 804
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID IND
Elevation of weather observation facility 797
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
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) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 485
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 11 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1820
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N51372
NTSB Number CHI97LA255
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 None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Taylorcraft
Aircraft Model L2A
Aircraft Series Identifier L2A
Aircraft Serial Number 4714
Certified Max Gross Weight 1100
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 Nov 15 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 1480
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DAVID A. KOSERUBA
Aircraft Owner Street Address 9130 ARBOR GLEN LANE
Aircraft Owner City CHARLOTTE
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28210
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 3SM
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 5NC1
Destination City TARA FIELD
Destination State NC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Standing
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 18
Runway Length 3732
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --