Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Parker County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Weatherford, Texas 76086
Wednesday, August 22, 2001 9:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During his second solo cross-country instructional flight, the student pilot reported to the controller that he was lost and low on fuel. The student told the controller that the left fuel gage indicated FULL and the right fuel gage indicated EMPTY. The controller issued the student suggested headings to the nearest airport. The student pilot located the airport and entered the traffic pattern for a landing on runway 17. During the landing roll to the south, the airplane bounced, exited the runway into the grass, and the student performed a go-around. Subsequently, the student landed the airplane to the north on runway 35. Witnesses reported the airplane remained on the runway with the elevators up, flaps retracted, and the propeller turning, before it rolled off the end of the runway at an "estimated speed of 30 mph." Witnesses never saw or heard any indication of braking, nor the addition of power. The airplane struck a vehicle traveling east at 60 mph on an interstate highway located north of the airport. Winds at the time of the accident were from the south at 20 knots. The accident flight time was 2.3 hours. Examination of the airplane's fuel system and its maintenance records revealed that the original left fuel tank transmitter (manufactured by Stewart Warner) was replaced in October 1999 with a new transmitter (manufactured by Rochester). Research revealed that by 1991, the Stewart Warner transmitters and fuel gages were no longer procurable for the airplane, and the Rochester transmitters and gages were to be installed by Service Bulletin (SB)/Service Kit (SK). According to the SB/SK, installation of a Rochester transmitter also requires installation of a Rochester gage. Neither the SB nor the SK had been complied with on the accident airplane. The Rochester gage assembly requires an aluminum back plate. Both fuel gages found in the airplane were Stewart Warner and the back plate was steel. According to the manufacturer representative, "with the Rochester transmitter installed with the Stewart Warner fuel gage, the gage indication would increase as the fuel level in the tank got lower." Physical evidence of fuel leakage from the left tank was found at the tank, the tank fitting, and the inboard wing where the tank was installed. No evidence was found of an in-flight mechanical and or flight/control malfunction that would have rendered the airplane uncontrollable prior to the impact.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The student pilot's improper decision making in that he landed with a tailwind and failed to execute a go-around, which resulted in a runway overrun. Contributing factors were the inaccurate reading of the left fuel gage as a result of improper maintenance by the operator/maintenance personnel, and the tailwind condition.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/22/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 910 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Weatherford |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 76086 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 324501N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0974033W |
| Event Location Airport | Parker County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | WEA |
| 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 | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 990 |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 20 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13335 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 22 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 910 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 13 2003 12:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Fort Worth, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4755B |
| NTSB Number | FTW01FA188 |
| 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 | 152 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15283618 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 26 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 51.6 |
| Airframe Hours | 11633 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Ashish V. Coswami |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3804 Falcon Way West, Hangar 18S |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fort Worth |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76106 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Aer Mistral, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | X4MS |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | T47 |
| Departure City | Wichita Falls |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 730 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FTW |
| Destination City | Fort Worth |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 27 2003 6:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 35 |
| Runway Length | 2889 |
| Runway Width | 40 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |