Spirit Of St. Louis Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chesterfield, Missouri 63017
Wednesday, December 31, 1997 14:19 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was heading westbound toward Spirit of St. Louis Airport for landing. Several witnesses saw the airplane in the air just before the accident. One witness said that the engine was not running, and the airplane was descending in steps. The airplane turned so that its wings were straight up and down. The airplane then rolled so that the wings were no longer sideways, but the right wing was lower. The airplane then struck the ground. Another witness said that the airplane was 'in a very steep angle.' As the airplane came close to the ground, it was in a right bank. Then almost immediately, the airplane struck the ground with its right wing and right landing gear at the same time. Examination of the wreckage revealed the fuel selector in the 'OFF' position. No other anomalies were observed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to position the fuel selector to the proper fuel tank which led to fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/31/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1419
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City CHESTERFIELD
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 63017
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SUS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 80
Airport Elevation 463
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1425 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID SUS
Elevation of weather observation facility 463
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 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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 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 3
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1271
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 31 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1520
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:42PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N627V
NTSB Number CHI98LA076
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 Beech
Aircraft Model 35-33
Aircraft Series Identifier 35-33
Aircraft Serial Number CD-61
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 6 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 91
Airframe Hours 2008
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SPIRIT FLYERS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 414 OAKMONT CIRCLE
Aircraft Owner City BALLWIN
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 63011
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 K89
Departure City MACON
Departure State MO
Departure Country
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SUS
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 26R
Runway Length 3800
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --