Fairfield County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Winnsboro, South Carolina 29180
Sunday, April 18, 1993 14:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE LOST POWER AT ABOUT 800 FEET AGL, DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF. A 180 DEGREE TURN WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND THE AIRPLANE WAS ALIGNED WITH THE RUNWAY FOR LANDING. ABOUT 60 FEET AGL, OVER THE RUNWAY, THE AIRPLANE STALLED; TOO LOW FOR THE PILOT TO RECOVER. THE AIRPLANE HIT THE GROUND IN A RIGHT WING AND NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. AN ENTRY WAS FOUND IN THE AIRCRAFT LOG BOOK THAT INDICATED A PREVIOUS ENGINE MALFUNCTION BECAUSE OF A CARBURETOR SETTING THAT WAS TOO LEAN. HOWEVER, AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT DID NOT REVEAL AN ABNORMALITY, AND THE ENGINE WAS OPERATED AT IDLE POWER.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain the airspeed above the stall speed, during the forced landing. A factor was the undetermined engine malfunction.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/18/1993
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City WINNSBORO
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29180
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport FAIRFIELD COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FDW
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 574
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1451 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID CAE
Elevation of weather observation facility 236
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 700
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) 1207
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 18 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:13PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N31187
NTSB Number ATL93LA077
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 MYERS
Aircraft Model AVID AIRCRAFT FLYER
Aircraft Series Identifier AVID AIRCR
Aircraft Serial Number 767
Certified Max Gross Weight 850
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 19 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 18
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MYERS, RALPH D.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2733 DIANE DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City COLUMBIA
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29210
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Takeoff
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 22
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --