Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Malone, Florida 32445
Wednesday, September 9, 1998 9:02 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was approximately three miles west of the airstrip when the engine lost all power. He stated, '...I was 600 to 700 feet AGL., I first pushed the throttle to full power position then started pumping the wobble pump and got no response.' The pilot stated that he began looking for an area to land, he picked out an area between two trees. According to the pilot during the landing, the airplane went between two trees and the wings were sheared then he impacted the ground. The engine was examined November, 1998. The FAA inspector's report showed that the following was found, '...wiring to magnetos had shielding completely chaffed from [the] wires and bare wires were present where it passed through the firewall of the aircraft...non aircraft wiring and splices were installed in the aircraft...suspect magnetos were grounded in flight.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a loss of engine power due to a chaffed ignition wires, resulting in a forced landing and subsequent impact with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/9/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 902
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City MALONE
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32445
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID MAI
Elevation of weather observation facility 125
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
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) 1536
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) 1156
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 9 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1859
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:46AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3652X
NTSB Number MIA98LA244
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aero Commander
Aircraft Model S2R
Aircraft Series Identifier S2R
Aircraft Serial Number 1885R
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 11 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 211
Airframe Hours 7759
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LEON J. FUSSELL
Aircraft Owner Street Address 400 ROSES CREEK RD
Aircraft Owner City BROXTON
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31519
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 Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 815
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Maneuvering
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 --