Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Morey Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Middleton, Wisconsin 53562
Wednesday, July 29, 1998 17:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that the gear deployed sooner than expected and he realized that he was not going to make the runway and subsequently landed approximately 1000 ft short of runway 30. The piloted stated that there should have been 80 gallons of fuel remaining; the gauge indicated 80-85 gallons of fuel. A total of a 1/2 gallon of fuel from the fuel tanks. The fuel gauge indicated 55 gallons of fuel when the electrical master switch was turned 'ON'. There were fuel stains present on top of the wings. The Aero Commander 685 Flight Manual lists the usable fuel capacity with optional fuel tanks to be 322 gallons. A review of fuel records indicate that the airplane was fueled twice prior to departure. Fuelling records provided by the fixed base operator who had fuelled the aircraft show that the aircraft was refueled twice on July 15, 1998 to obtain 278.0 gallons and 13.5 gallons of fuel. The Aero Commander 685 Maintenance Manual provides a 'Indicator Error Envelope' for the fuel system which depicts the maximum allowable tolerance between the weight of fuel in the tanks and the fuel quantity gauge indication. The manual also states, 'The fuel vent outlet tube on the lower wing surface should be checked daily for evidence of foreign material'. The Aero Commander 685 Flight Manual also states that the left and right fuel vent should be checked during the preflight inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The fuel starvation of the aircraft in addition to the improper aircraft preflight and premature gear extension by the pilot-in-command. The blocked fuel vent system is a contributing factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/29/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1730 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | MIDDLETON |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 53562 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | MOREY FIELD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | C29 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 120 |
| Airport Elevation | 926 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1739 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 9 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MSN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 858 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 255 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 281 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| 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 | 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1055 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 29 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2252 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 23 2001 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N414C |
| NTSB Number | CHI98LA283 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Aero Commander |
| Aircraft Model | 685 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 685 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 12021 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 9000 |
| 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 | 8 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 1 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2559 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DAVID G. FENNER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. BOX 1925 |
| Aircraft Owner City | TUBAC |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85646 |
| 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 | RYN |
| Departure City | TUSCON |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | OSH |
| Destination City | OSHKOSH |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 23 2001 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 2971 |
| Runway Width | 38 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |