Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Columbus, Mississippi 39702
Saturday, July 1, 2000 8:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was en route to Columbus-Lowndes County Airport, and the aircraft engine ceased operating 10 minutes into the flight. He further stated that he had attempted to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful, so he executed a forced landing to an open area, surrounded by timber, and during the landing the airplane incurred damage. Follow-on examination of the accident airplane revealed that a fuel line was being crushed between the seat and the frame, which starved the engine of fuel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the owner/builder's improper installation that resulted in the fuel line being snagged, resulting in fuel starvation and an inflight loss of engine power and subsequent damage to the airplane during the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City COLUMBUS
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 39702
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 7
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1355 GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID CBM
Elevation of weather observation facility 180
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation GMT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
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) 1300
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) 377
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL. Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 1 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1235
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N60698
NTSB Number MIA00LA204
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 Spurgeon
Aircraft Model AVID BANDIT
Aircraft Series Identifier AVID BANDI
Aircraft Serial Number 1472E
Certified Max Gross Weight 1200
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 Jan 20 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 605
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PAUL M. SPURGEON
Aircraft Owner Street Address H.O.C BOX 30A
Aircraft Owner City BROOKSVILLE
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 39739
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
Departure City PRIVATE AIRPORT
Departure State MS
Departure Country
Departure Time 745
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code UBS
Destination City COLUMBUS
Destination State MS
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
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 --