Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Private Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Van, Texas 75790
Monday, November 17, 1997 10:30 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane impacted terrain during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power. The pilot reported that this was the first 'test' flight, following repair and re-assembly of the airplane, since its previous accident, which occurred on 5/9/96. The pilot stated that he took off from runway 04, and during the initial climb-out phase at about 150 feet AGL, a complete loss of engine power occurred. The pilot reported that he 'pumped' the throttle, and there was a 'momentary burst' of power. The pilot stated that he continued to pump the throttle, but this did not yield further results. The pilot then executed a forced landing. The pilot banked the airplane to the left, and it contacted power lines. The airplane then impacted the ground, turned 180 degrees, and came to rest upright, adjacent to a line of trees. Examination of the carburetor revealed that the float valve retractor clip was improperly installed, which restricted float travel. The float drop was improperly set at 1.5 inches. The proper setting was between 1.72 to 1.78 inches. The restricted float travel resulted in fuel starvation to the engine and subsequent loss of engine power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
fuel starvation, resulting from restricted carburetor float travel, due to improper maintenance installation. The encounter with a power line was related factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/17/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | VAN |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 75790 |
| 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 | PRIVATE STRIP |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PVT |
| 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 | 550 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1247 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TYR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 544 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 736 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 17 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1417 |
| 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 | N202EX |
| NTSB Number | FTW98LA050 |
| 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 | 172G |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 172G |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17253456 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 14 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 3000 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RAYMOND E. BURCH |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | RR 2 BOX 143 |
| Aircraft Owner City | GRAND SALINE |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75140 |
| 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) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1029 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| 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 | 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 | 4 |
| Runway Length | 2000 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |