Marion County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marion, South Carolina 29574
Thursday, February 28, 2002 13:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that as she was taking off, while at an altitude of about 500 feet, she noticed a large drop in power. She said that with full power applied, the aircraft engine "surged a couple of times", and she executed a forced landing to an open field, during which the aircraft was damaged. An FAA certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic, with an inspection authorization stated to the NTSB that he examined the accident airplane and found no anomalies with the aircraft's fuel, ignition and induction systems. The mechanic further stated that he also performed a test run on the engine, operating it to about 1,700 rpms and it functioned normally.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power during takeoff/initial climb due to undetermined reasons, resulting in a landing on unsuitable terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Marion
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29574
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Marion County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MAO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 92
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 25
Weather Observation Facility ID FAY
Elevation of weather observation facility 92
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 55
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.27
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11678
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1415
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 21 2002 10:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbia, South Carolina

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1915V
NTSB Number MIA02LA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17263793
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Jul 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11.5
Airframe Hours 726.5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Euphoria Ltd/Carol Moore
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 875
Aircraft Owner City Elizabethtown
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28337
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 MAO
Departure City Marion
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1314
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 4WI
Destination City Elizabethtown
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2002 9:52AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --