Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Gwinnett County-Briscoe Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bethlehem, Georgia 30620
Sunday, June 16, 2002 15:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was practicing steep turns at 3,000 feet MSL and pulled the power back to descend. At 2,100 feet MSL, the pilot added power, but there was no change in performance in the airplane. The pilot established glide airspeed toward a field and completed the emergency procedures, but engine power did not return. The airplane touched down in the field and sank deeply into the wet, plowed soil, and the left wing struck an irrigation sprinkler. Examination of the wreckage revealed the left main gear was collapsed, the nosewheel was separated, and the left wing sustained crush damage. Fuel leaked from the damaged wing and was contained by emergency response personnel; approximately 5 to 6 gallons was recovered from the left tank and 3 to 4 gallons was recovered from the right tank. The engine was examined and ran with no evidence of mechanical malfunction nor abnormalities. The Piper Cherokee II Information Manual states in Section 7-1, Operating Tips, Item 15: "The shape of the wing fuel tanks is such that in certain (flight) maneuvers fuel may move away from the tank outlet. If the outlet is uncovered, the fuel flow will be interrupted and a temporary loss of power may result."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to follow operational procedures for the airplane, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation/fuel flow interruption. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain, resulting in a collision with an irrigation sprinkler during forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/16/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1545 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Bethlehem |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30620 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335600N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0834300W |
| Event Location Airport | Gwinnett County-Briscoe Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LZU |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 15 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 67 |
| Airport Elevation | 1061 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1445 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 287 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LZU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1061 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| 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) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.93 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2725 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KLZU 161845Z 00000KT 7SM SKC 27/09 A2993 |
| 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) | 13052 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communications Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 16 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1700 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 29 2003 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Atlanta FSDO - 11 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N15143 |
| NTSB Number | ATL02LA123 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28R-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28R-7335027 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 16 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 2967 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Randell K. Powell and Thomas M. Reynolds |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 221 W Crogan St. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Lawrenceville |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30045 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Beverly Francis Mitchell |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 5657 Bellville Way |
| Operator City | Norcross |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30092 |
| 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 | LZU |
| Departure City | Lawrenceville |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1515 |
| 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 | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 10 2002 9:24AM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| 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 | -- |