Wakulla County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Panacea, Florida 32346
Thursday, May 23, 2002 19:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff, when the airplane was approximately 100 feet above the ground, the engine lost power and quit. The pilot elected to attempt a landing on the remaining runway. The airplane collided with the runway in a 35- to 40-degree nose-down attitude. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that when the fuel shutoff valve was turned off, the valve closed completely. When the fuel shutoff valve was opened, the valve opened halfway, while indicating completely open.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Loss of engine power due to fuel starvation resulting from fuel restriction through the fuel shutoff valve.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1930
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Panacea
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32346
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 295920N
Event Location Longitude 0842343W
Event Location Airport Wakulla County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K2J0
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 11
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID TLH
Elevation of weather observation facility 155
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 29
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12272
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 23 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 20 2002 10:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Tampa FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5545F
NTSB Number ATL02LA105
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 Stearman
Aircraft Model A75N1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-4213
Certified Max Gross Weight 2978
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 3850
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Harbison
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2355 Surf Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Panacea
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32346
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 K2J0
Departure City Panacea
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1930
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 11:57AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --