Lake Norman Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mooresville, North Carolina 28036
Sunday, July 15, 2001 19:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot the engine was surging as the airplane started its takeoff roll. When the airplane became airborne the pilot reported he could not maintain altitude and elected to make a forced landing, coming to rest upside down in a tree about 40 feet above the ground. The pilot stated he was flying solo, landed at an airport, and on takeoff "...the engine didn't feel right on full throttle." He and a co-owner of the airplane tried to find the problem, but they could not. They then decided to fly to the airport where the accident eventually took place. They landed twice, and on the second takeoff the pilot stated "...the problem showed up, landing us in the trees." The fuel burn for this airplane was 10 to 10.5 gallons per hour in level flight. Each fuel tank held 26 gallons, for a total of 52 gallons, of which 9 gallons of fuel was unusable, or 43 gallon of usable fuel. The fuel tanks were topped off on June 28, 2001. The owner/student pilot did not log all the time since last refueling the airplane, but 3.98 hours were logged. At 10.5 gallon per hour, 41.79 gallons of fuel would have been used in 3.98 hours. Examination of the fuel system after the accident revealed that about 2 gallons of fuel was drained from the left tank, and no fuel was found in the right tank. The fuel that was drained was clean with no evidence of sediment or water. In addition, there was no evidence of fuel leaks found at the accident site, and no fuel odor was noted at the accident site. Examination of the propeller and engine revealed no discrepancies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations, inadequate preflight planning, and failure to refuel the airplane before takeoff, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and a forced landing in trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/15/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Mooresville
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28036
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354500N
Event Location Longitude 0805700W
Event Location Airport LAKE NORMAN AIRPARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 14A
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 140
Airport Elevation 838
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1924 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID SVH
Elevation of weather observation facility 965
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) 2200
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11613
NTSB Notification Source FAA SE REG COM CTR
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2002 9:31AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Charlotte FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8861E
NTSB Number MIA01LA185
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 175
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 56161
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
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 Jan 15 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 37.66
Airframe Hours 2755
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Randy Graham/S. Brown
Aircraft Owner Street Address 9800 Earnhardt Lake RD.
Aircraft Owner City Davidson
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28036
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 14A
Departure City Moresville
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
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 Climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Apr 10 2002 3:08PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --