Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538
Sunday, July 2, 1989 19:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

DURING FLIGHT, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PILOT WAS FORCED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN TREES. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED WATER IN THE FUEL TANK AND CARBURETOR. AFTER DRAINING THE CARBURETOR AND FUEL TANK AND ADDING FUEL, THE ENGINE WAS SUCCESSFULLY RUN FOR 1 MINUTE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

WATER CONTAMINATION OF THE FUEL AND THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN FOR A FORCED LANDING & TREES.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/2/1989
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City FORT ATKINSON
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 53538
Event Date Year 1989
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1851 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 215
Weather Observation Facility ID JVL
Elevation of weather observation facility 808
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
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) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1114
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 2 1989 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 39266
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1271H
NTSB Number CHI89DEP06
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 AERONCA
Aircraft Model 15AC
Aircraft Series Identifier 15AC
Aircraft Serial Number 284
Certified Max Gross Weight 2100
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 Sep 27 1988 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 69
Airframe Hours 3430
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT M JONES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4411 MARS DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City ANCHORAGE
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99507
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name ROBERT M. JONES
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 4411 MARS DRIVE
Operator City ANCHORAGE
Operator State AK
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 99507
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 52C
Departure City COTTAGE GROVE
Departure State WI
Departure Country
Departure Time 1825
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Landing
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 0
Runway Length 0
Runway Width 0
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --