Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Barrington Hill, Illinois 60010
Tuesady, January 7, 2003 12:32 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of power in both engines during cruise flight. The pilot reported one engine sputtered. He stated he switched fuel tanks and verified the mixture was full rich. Shortly thereafter the other engine also sputtered. At this point, the pilot stated that he setup for a forced landing into a small field. However, he overshot his intended touchdown point and impacted trees adjacent to the field. Prior to departure, the pilot stated he requested FBO line service personnel top off the inboard main fuel tanks. He also reported he verified that the fuel tank caps were present and secure, but he did not remove any of the fuel caps to visually check fuel quantity. The FBO line service personnel who fueled the aircraft stated the pilot requested that the outboard fuel tanks be topped off. During an interview, when questioned about the configuration of the fuel cap, he reported the tanks he fueled had standard, twist-off caps. The aircraft was configured with 3 fuel tanks in each wing, the production inboard and outboard main tanks and the auxiliary wing tip tanks. The inboard and outboard main tanks were configured with a sub-flush fuel cap that was covered by a small, hinged panel. The auxiliary tank fuel cap was a standard, twist-off type. This cap protruded above the wing contour and was not covered by a secondary panel. During the on-scene investigation, the inboard main fuel tanks were empty. The outboard main tanks contained fuel, however an exact amount could not be determined. Both wing tip tanks were separated and ruptured. An examination of each engine was completed. The fuel flow divider units for both engines were disassembled and did not contain any fluid. The diaphragms were intact. No other anomolies were noted.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation. An inadequate preflight inspection and the trees encountered during the forced landing were contributing factors.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/7/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1232 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Barrington Hill |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60010 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 420820N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0881430W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 95 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PWK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 647 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 10000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.83 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13566 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 7 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1300 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2003 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA -- DuPage FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N74AA |
| NTSB Number | CHI03FA047 |
| 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-23-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 23-3288 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5200 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7600 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | George L. Barker |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1000 Augusta Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Elgin |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60120 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | RYV |
| Departure City | Watertown |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 06C |
| Destination City | Schaumburg |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2003 9:38AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |