Burlington Municipal Arpt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burlington, Wisconsin 53105
Tuesady, August 1, 2000 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he had gotten airborne and was approximately 300 feet above the ground when "the aircraft engine had a sudden loss of power. I was already in a slight right hand turn, so I sharpened the turn, in an attempt to return to the runway. The attempt failed." An examination of the fuel system showed negligible fuel in the left main tank. The right main tank showed approximately 10 gallons of fuel. The fuel selector was on the right tank. Fuel was observed in the gascolator. During a post- crash examination, the engine was started and ran at idle power. Examination of the remaining airplane systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the fence during the forced landing attempt. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision to turn back toward the runway during the forced landing attempt, the airport fence, and the corn crop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/1/2000
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BURLINGTON
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53105
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport BURLINGTON MUNICIPAL ARPT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C52
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 290
Airport Elevation 779
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID ENW
Elevation of weather observation facility 754
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Not Reported
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 82
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 72
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2523
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) 10545
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 1 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2006
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Sep 26 2001 10:21AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5293W
NTSB Number CHI00LA235
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-160
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-160
Aircraft Serial Number 344
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 1503
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JEFFERY A RADTKE
Aircraft Owner Street Address W1481 MAUREEN COURT
Aircraft Owner City LAKE GENEVA
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 53147
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 1800
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code WI89
Destination City LAKE GENEVA
Destination State WI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2001 4:00AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29
Runway Length 4300
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --