Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Leesburg Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Thursday, November 15, 2001 18:16
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was loaded with fishing and camping gear, and 15 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline, in four, five-gallon fuel cans. The fuel cans and the gear were secured under a cargo net in the airplane 2 days prior to the accident. The pilot completed his preflight inspection with no anomalies noted, and checked the security of the cargo in the back of the airplane. There was no evidence of fuel spillage and no odor of fuel in the cabin. The pilot started the engine and taxied to the run-up area at the approach end of a runway, then applied the parking brake, and started the takeoff checklist. During the checklist, there was an "overwhelming fuel smell." The pilot shut down the engine with the mixture but left the master switch and the lights on. He looked for fuel on the floor of the cabin, but I couldn't see any. The pilot deplaned, and was about to close the door when the cabin exploded.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper stowage of hazardous material.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/15/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1816 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Leesburg |
| Event State | VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 20176 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 390440N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0773327W |
| Event Location Airport | Leesburg Executive |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | JYO |
| 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 | 389 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1842 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KJYO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 389 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| 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) | 15 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.12 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | JYO 160003Z AUTO 20003KT 10SM CLR 13/05 A3014 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13794 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Eastern Region Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 15 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1930 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 26 2003 8:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Washington, DC (Dulles) |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N346ME |
| NTSB Number | IAD02LA013 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| 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 | Oct 16 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 350 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Edward J. Diaz |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Ashburn |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 20147 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | JYO |
| Departure City | Manassas |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GAI |
| Destination City | Gaithersburg |
| Destination State | UK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Standing - engine(s) not operating |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 4 2003 3:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COXP |
| 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 | -- |