Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Indiantown, Florida 34956
Sunday, March 5, 2000 14:44 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The day before the flight the pilot had topped-off the fuel tanks with aviation fuel and he had flown the airplane about 25 minutes after the refueling. After the 25-minute flight, the pilot parked the airplane, and it was not flown again until the next day. Before the flight, the pilot received a weather briefing, filed a flight plan, and completed a preflight inspection. The fuel sample taken during the preflight inspection was free of visible contaminates. About one hour and 44 minutes into the flight, the pilot experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot selected a nearby orange grove for a forced landing and established an approach to a road in the orange grove. As the pilot maneuvered the airplane for the touchdown, the tail section of the airplane collided with a tree, the airplane turned several degrees, collided with the ground, and slid into an embankment. During the examination of the airplane, rust and other debris were recovered from the fuel system filter assembly. The composition of the debris was not determined, however the debris reduced the normal flow of fuel through the fuel system. The airplane had undergone routine maintenance and preflight inspections.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The maintenance personnel inadequate inspection of the fuel system that resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel filter contamination.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/5/2000
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1444
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City INDIANTOWN
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34956
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 3
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 1500 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 50
Weather Observation Facility ID VRB
Elevation of weather observation facility 25
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 800
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 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 97
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 9:44AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N61520
NTSB Number ATL00LA033
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aero Comp Inc
Aircraft Model COMP-AIR-6
Aircraft Series Identifier COMP-AIR-6
Aircraft Serial Number 96105
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 15 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 390
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ALEXANDER S. JONES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1504 NW 20TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City HOMESTEAD
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33030
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 HST
Departure City HOMESTEAD
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code COI
Destination City MERRITT ISLAND
Destination State FL
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 12:27PM
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 --