Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gary, Indiana 46401
Sunday, April 8, 2001 9:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane contacted a rock and directional control was lost during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot reported the engine quit while he was six miles out over the water from the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The pilot reported he was able to temporarily restore engine power as he positioned the airplane for a forced landing. The right main gear separated from the airplane during the landing roll after it contacted a large rock. The airplane came to rest part way down an embankment. Examination of the airplane after the accident revealed the carburetor had separated from the engine; however, there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site. One and one-half ounces of fuel were drained from the fuel line between the header fuel tank and the fuel selector. The fuel gages indicated the right tank was empty and the left tank contained 1/3 tank of fuel. A visual inspection of both tanks revealed they were empty. The airplane had been modified with an extended range fuel system. The airplane had not been flown since September, 2000. The pilot reported that three days prior to the accident, he noticed fuel leaking out of the carburetor. He reported that he was told by a mechanic and the airplane owner that the float needle was stuck and that he should tap the carburetor with a wrench. He reported he did this, then flew the airplane around the traffic pattern. The airplane then sat until the day of the accident. The pilot reported he did not visually check the fuel level prior to takeoff on the accident flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate preflight performed by the pilot which resulted in an insufficient fuel supply and the subsequent fuel exhaustion. Factors associated with the accident were the inaccurate fuel quantity indicator, the rock which resulted in the overload failure of the right main landing gear, and the embankment which the airplane traveled down.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/8/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 900 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gary |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 46401 |
| 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 | -- |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 938 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GYY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 592 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 614 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| 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) | 11292 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 8 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1310 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2002 2:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | South Bend, IN FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6460D |
| NTSB Number | CHI01LA114 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | J3C-65 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 19640 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1220 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Aerial Two, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 7501 Pembroke Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Hollywood |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33023 |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 05C |
| Departure City | Merrillville |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 850 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Milwaukee |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 13 2001 3:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |