Morristown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Morristown, New Jersey 07960
Sunday, January 5, 2003 13:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after departure, at an altitude of about 700 feet, the airplane's engine sputtered, then lost power. The pilot initiated a right turn back toward the airport, and attempted a forced landing to a taxiway. During the landing, the airplane's left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing hit the ground. Examination of the airplane's fuel tanks shortly after the accident revealed they were full; however, only a trace of fuel was observed in the fuel filter bowl. The fuel tanks were sumped, and fuel flow was observed to be lower than normal, although no water or ice was observed. After the airplane was thawed in a hangar overnight, fuel flow increased. When the engine was subsequently test run on the airframe, it started without hesitation and ran continuously at various power settings. The airplane had been parked outside during the night prior to the accident flight. The low temperature that night was 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dewpoint was 28 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, light snow and mist were reported throughout the night. According to the pilot, he cleared a significant amount of ice from the airplane during the preflight inspection. Temperature at the time of the accident was 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Ice in the fuel system, which resulted in restricted fuel flow and a subsequent loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/5/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Morristown
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07960
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404757N
Event Location Longitude 0742453W
Event Location Airport Morristown municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MMU
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 182
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID CDW
Elevation of weather observation facility 173
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2700
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) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) -1679
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) 13834
NTSB Notification Source FAA Teterboro FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Jan 7 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2003 8:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Teterboro FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1074Z
NTSB Number IAD03LA025
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 Mooney
Aircraft Model 20J
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24-3150
Certified Max Gross Weight 2740
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 66.2
Airframe Hours 1974
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Emzon Shung
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Summit
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07901
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 MMU
Departure City Morristown
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1314
Departure Time Zone --
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 - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 19 2003 10:48AM
User who most recently changed record COXP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 1000
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --