Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Mifflintown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mifflintown, Pennsylvania 17059
Sunday, June 30, 2002 18:01 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The commercial pilot was giving rides in the airplane as part of an air show. During the fourth takeoff, the airplane climbed to about 100 feet above the runway, and the engine stopped producing power. The pilot adjusted the carburetor heat and the fuel selector, but the engine would not restart. During the subsequent forced landing, the airplane struck wires and terrain, and came to rest inverted. There was a strong odor of fuel and evidence of fuel spillage at the scene, and no mechanical anomalies were found. The right fuel tank was serviced with fuel and the engine started immediately, accelerated, and ran continuously without interruption. A carburetor icing probability chart revealed that ambient conditions during the time of the accident could have resulted in "serious icing at glide power." The airplane was equipped with a Franklin 6A-4165 series engine. During the investigation of another Stinson accident, under approximately the same ambient conditions and with the same series engine, the mechanic who maintained that airplane stated that the engine was particularly susceptible to carburetor icing on the ground due to the position of the air intake manifold. An engine runup was conducted shortly thereafter, and upon shutdown, the carburetor box felt cold to the touch.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
On-ground carburetor icing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/30/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1801 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Mifflintown |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 17059 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403604N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0772417W |
| Event Location Airport | Mifflintown Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | P34 |
| 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 | 545 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1756 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CXY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13399 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EASTERN REG OPS CTR |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 30 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1840 |
| 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 | Harrisburg, PA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6678M |
| NTSB Number | IAD02LA064 |
| 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 | Stinson |
| Aircraft Model | 108-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 108-4678 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 19 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3332 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Eric Lunger |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | RR 1 Box 64 Airport Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mifflintown |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 17059 |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | P34 |
| Departure City | Mifflintown |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | P34 |
| Destination City | Mifflintown |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 18 2003 11:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COXP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | 2635 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |