Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Galveston, Texas 77550
Saturday, November 1, 1997 11:19 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
After takeoff, at about 250 to 300 feet AGL, the right engine lost partial power, followed by the left engine. The pilot made a wide left turn toward a small field with trees in front, and retracted the landing gear. During the forced landing, the pilot 'intentionally' hit the trees in order to slow down and go under some power lines. After going under the wires, the airplane came to a stop in the field. The airplane had not been flown for about two years, and the pilot was to ferry the aircraft for the owner from Galveston, TX, to Colorado Springs, CO. A mechanic at the Scholes Field Airport in Galveston prepared the airplane for the flight and obtained a ferry permit from the FAA. The mechanic reported that the fuel tanks were drained and visually inspected. About one gallon of water was drained from the tanks, and both fuel filters were cleaned. The mechanic also reported that rained had fallen on the day before the accident flight. Examination of the fuel filters revealed that they were both clogged with debris.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
inadequate maintenance and/or preflight inspection of the airplane, and subsequent blockage of the fuel filters, which led to fuel starvation, partial loss of engine power in both engines, and a forced landing. A related factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/1/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1119 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | GALVESTON |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77550 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| 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 | 1045 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 130 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GLS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7 |
| 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 | 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| 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 | Minor |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1399 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 1 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1450 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N40201 |
| NTSB Number | FTW98LA038 |
| 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 | 27-7304998 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3000 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 1 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RICHARD C. HOLDEN |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2109 WOODBURN STREET |
| Aircraft Owner City | COLORADO SPRGS |
| Aircraft Owner State | CO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 80906 |
| 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) | Ferry |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | GLS |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1119 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | COS |
| Destination City | COLORADO SPRGS |
| Destination State | CO |
| 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 | -- |