Applachicola Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Sunday, May 9, 1999 11:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that after lift-off the airplane was accelerated to 75 knots and was climbed to 500 feet, at which time he began a left turn and set the power to 2500 rpm, and 25 inches manifold pressure. About that time the engine began losing power and he turned back to the field complex. He said, 'the engine quit...and [I] tried to maintain about 70 to 75 knots. At this time I was extremely busy maintaining aircraft control and trying to steer the aircraft to the airport clearing...it became apparent that I was not going to make the clearing I stalled the airplane into the top of pine saplings at about 45 knots or so. After the aircraft came to rest I turned all switches off and rotated the fuel selector off.' The engine was test run under the supervision of the FAA, after it was removed from the crash site. According to the FAA inspector, '...the engine started and was run for 30 minutes...the maximum rpm achieved was 2460 rpm (static) when the mixture control was placed in the fully leaned position. The engine would not exceed 2000 rpm (static) when [the] mixture control was in the full rich position.' The fuel selector valve showed evidence of internal failure, but when used in the post accident engine run, it did not cause engine failure, the carburetor was setup and functioned properly, but due to the amount and location of rust found internally, the possibility existed that it could have affected engine operation, the airplane had sufficient fuel onboard for the intended flight, the specific cause for failure of the engine after takeoff could not be positively determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/9/1999
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City APALACHICOLA
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32320
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport APPLACHICOLA MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AAF
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 20
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
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) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 344
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 9 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1235
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N34C
NTSB Number MIA99LA151
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 BOONE
Aircraft Model RV6
Aircraft Series Identifier RV6
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1000
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 30 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9
Airframe Hours 300
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROY H. BOONE
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 893
Aircraft Owner City APALACHICOLA
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32329
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 1055
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --