Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
New Hanover International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
Saturday, April 28, 2001 11:12 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Within 3 miles of landing, as the pilot was completing his before landing check list, the engine surged to 2,700 rpm two or three times, and then stopped developing power, completely. The pilot thought his best alternative was a forced landing to a corn field, which was accomplished but the airframe sustained substantial damage. Post crash examination by FAA inspectors revealed adequate fuel was aboard. Examination of engine, fuel, ignition, and airframe components revealed the fuel selector cover assembly was loose, missing mounting screws, and had shifted aft of its designed position. Such a repositioning would render the mechanical safety stop that would prevent an inadvertent switch to "off" inoperative. A search of the aircraft maintenance logs revealed an entry where the aircraft seats, door panels, plastic, and carpeting were removed for replacement or cleaning.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to the failure of maintenance to properly secure the fuel selector cover, resulting in the pilot inadvertently selecting "off" instead of "left" tank, and the subsequent forced landing to uneven terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/28/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1112 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Wilmington |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 28401 |
| 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 | New Hanover International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ILM |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 33 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1110 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ILM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 33 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 10828 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC Atlanta |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 28 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1252 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 23 2001 10:32AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Greensboro |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N38261 |
| NTSB Number | MIA01LA136 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-7780408 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 15 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 24 |
| Airframe Hours | 3041 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ZQJ Corporation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 955 Lexington Ave. Apt. 1C |
| Aircraft Owner City | New York |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 10021 |
| 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 | PHF |
| Departure City | Newport News |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 950 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ILM |
| Destination City | Wilmington |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 27 2001 3:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PREJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |