Al Meyers Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tecumseh, Michigan 49286
Monday, April 2, 2001 8:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with trees and terrain during a forced landing following an in-flight loss of engine power on initial climb. A post impact fire occurred. The pilot reported no injuries. The pilot stated, "I had just completed an annual inspection on it. ... On Monday morning I drained the sumps did a full power run up and proceeded to take off on runway 36 for a local check flight. Everything seemed normal until just after I rotated and cycled the landing gear. A few seconds later I lost power. I switched on the boost pump not normally used for take off, to no avail. The stall warning horn activated and I came down in the trees off the north end of the airport. I had a fire originating from the fuel line to the distrabution valve on top of the engine. I exited the aircraft unhurt but neglected to turn off the master switch or the boost pump which was feeding the fire. ... It seems like I lost fuel pressure from the line at the distrabution valve which did not come off but was leaking. This caused the engine to quit."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The fuel starvation. Factors were the loose line at the distribution valve, the inadequate annual inspection the owner/pilot mechanic performed, the unsuitable terrain the pilot encountered during the emergency landing after takeoff, and the trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/2/2001
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 840
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Tecumseh
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 49286
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport AL MEYERS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 0MI7
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 360
Airport Elevation 815
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID ADG
Elevation of weather observation facility 798
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KADG 021253Z AUTO 23003KT 10SM CLR 00/M02 A3003 RM
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11009
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 2 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1058
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 27 2001 11:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Detroit, MI, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N495C
NTSB Number CHI01LA112
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Meyers
Aircraft Model 200A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 259
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 7 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 2803
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Keith Thomas Diver
Aircraft Owner Street Address 19552 Deerfield Road
Aircraft Owner City Deerfield
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49238
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 0MI7
Departure City Tecumseh
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 840
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2001 8:49AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 2660
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --