Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Zuehl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Marion, Texas 78124
Monday, July 23, 2001 11:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The two pilots were conducting a high speed taxi test run when the bi-wing, experimental, amateur-built airplane inadvertently took off. Witnesses observed the tandem-seat airplane make a "sharp turn to the left", "stall," impact terrain and catch fire. During the brief flight, witnesses heard a surging noise. The airplane had never been flown before and had been issued an experimental airworthiness certificate two months prior to the accident. According to people at the airport, the front seat pilot had been working on the airplane for over a year and had never flown it. They added that the propeller governor had been removed and reinstalled a few days prior to the accident. The rear seat pilot stated that it was his understanding that the airplane was not supposed to takeoff. Toxicology tests on the front seat pilot revealed 0.05 ug/ml of diphenhydramine in the pilot's blood, an unquantified amount of diphenhydramine in the liver, and 1.076 ug/ml of acetaminophen in the pilot's blood. Acetaminophen is an over-the-counter pain reliever commonly known by the trade name Tylenol. Diphenhydramine is an over-the-counter antihistamine. A study on the effects of diphenhydramine on driving performance revealed that the drug significantly impaired a person's ability to maneuver an automobile. Examination of the propeller governor revealed that the booster pump drive shaft was coated with what appeared to be a cooked oil coating, and the pilot valve was sticking inside the booster pump drive shaft. It could not be determined if the cooked oil coating was a result of the post crash fire or a pre-existing condition.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the loss of control on takeoff for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/23/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1115 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Marion |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78124 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Zuehl Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1TE4 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 592 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Witness |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| 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) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | -- |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11923 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 23 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1230 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2002 11:26AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | San Antonio, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N393Y |
| NTSB Number | FTW01LA168 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Schnitz |
| Aircraft Model | FIIC-2 Goshawk |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 17 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 0 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thurman R. Schnitz |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1 Towers Park Lane, Apartment 1006 |
| Aircraft Owner City | San Antonio |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78209 |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 1TE4 |
| Departure City | Marion |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1115 |
| 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 | Descent - uncontrolled |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 11 2002 5:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SNYG |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 3000 |
| Runway Width | 200 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |