Rogersville Hawkins County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rogersville, Tennessee 37857
Friday, April 25, 2003 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, shortly after liftoff from runway 25, the airplane climbed to 300 feet, and the engine lost power. The pilot continued on the runway heading and the airplane made a forced landing in a small field. During the emergency landing rollout, the airplane rolled approximately 50 feet and collided with a stand of trees. Examination of the downed airplane revealed that the leading edge of the left wing had crush damage with tree bark on the wing. During the examination of the downed airplane the carburetor was disassembled. The seams of the carburetor floats had separated and fuel was observed in the open cavity.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The rupture of the carburetor float, which resulted in the loss of engine power and subsequent on ground collision with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/25/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Rogersville
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37857
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 362727N
Event Location Longitude 0825306W
Event Location Airport Rogersville Hawkins County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RVN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 260
Airport Elevation 1255
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 310
Weather Observation Facility ID TRI
Elevation of weather observation facility 1519
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4900
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.61
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) 19816
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 29 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 28 2006 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Nashville FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N43266
NTSB Number ATL03LA085
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-28-151
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7415460
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 21 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 56
Airframe Hours 7570
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jim Vermillion
Aircraft Owner Street Address 518 Cedar Drive
Aircraft Owner City Lebanon
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 24266
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Advanced Flight Training
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address Tri-Cities Airport P.O. Box 1106
Operator City Blountville
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 37617
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 RVN
Departure City Rogersville
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1758
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TRI
Destination City Bristol
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 6 2004 10:29AM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 250
Runway Length 3502
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --