Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Madison County Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Meridianville, Alabama 35759
Wednesday, August 23, 2000 9:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that upon departure, while climbing through an altitude of about 50 to 70 feet above ground level, the engine suddenly ceased operating, with no prior warning. He further stated that he switched the fuel tank selector switch from the right fuel tank to the left one, but the engine did not restart, so he executed a forced landing in an open area. During the emergency landing the engine suddenly started, but the left wing and tail section struck a metal structure, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. Witnesses stated that they observed the takeoff, and the engine sounded as if it was developing full power but shortly after takeoff it sounded rough for a brief period, and then ceased operating. The FAA inspector who conducted the post accident examination said that he checked the airplane's fuel tanks and found 1/4 inch of water in the right tank drain. The inspector further stated that the engine was operated for a period of about 5 minutes and it operated normally with no loss of power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation which resulted in fuel contamination going undetected, which resulted in a forced landing and substantial damage to the aircraft during the emergency landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 930 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | MERIDIANVILLE |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35759 |
| 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 | MADISON COUNTY EXECUTIVE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | M82 |
| 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 | 953 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HSV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 755 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2500 |
| 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) | 470 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 23 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1120 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 25 2001 4:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N800RH |
| NTSB Number | MIA00LA244 |
| 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 | Siai-Marchetti |
| Aircraft Model | F260B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | F260B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 11-02 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2430 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 10 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 46 |
| Airframe Hours | 1763 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PHILLIP W. KNIGHT |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 18901 SE CROSSWIND LANE |
| Aircraft Owner City | JUPITER |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33478 |
| 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 | M82 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | LNK |
| Destination City | LINCOLN |
| Destination State | NE |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 25 2001 4:10AM |
| 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 | -- |