Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Robert Newlon Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Huntington, West Virginia 25702
Sunday, May 25, 2003 8:25 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot overflew the runway and as he turned downwind, the engine lost power. He switched tanks and turned the boost pump on, but was unable to restore power. He continued on the downwind, and then turned base and final close to the airport. The airplane touched down mid-field on the 2,300 foot long turf runway, at 75 to 80 mph. The pilot was unable to stop the airplane on the runway, and it continued beyond the runway into a gravel pile and scrap metal beyond the departure end of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed the right wing tank had ruptured with evidence of a fuel spill. Trace amounts of fuel was found in the fuel line leading to the carburetor, and in the carburetor. The left wing tank was intact and contained a little over a gallon. When electrical power was applied, the fuel gage indicated about 1/8, and with the boost pump on, fuel was pumped fuel flowed to the carburetor. No obstructions were found in the fuel lines. The pilot reported that he flew the airplane earlier in the morning. When he preflighted the airplane, both outboard tanks were empty, the right inboard was full, and the left inboard had about 18 gallons. He reported that he flew for about 35 to 40 minutes on the left tank, and then conducted the accident flight on the left tank. He also reported that he did not visually check the fuel tanks prior to departing on the accident flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to position the fuel selector to a tank with adequate fuel for the flight, which resulted in a power loss due to fuel starvation and the subsequent forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/25/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 825 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Huntington |
| Event State | WEST VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 25702 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 382542N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821842W |
| Event Location Airport | Robert Newlon Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | I41 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 20 |
| Airport Elevation | 550 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 851 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 250 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HTS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 828 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| 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) | 29.96 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 525 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14998 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 28 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 800 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2004 8:06AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Charleston, West virginia |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N820CA |
| NTSB Number | NYC03LA116 |
| 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 | PA32-260 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-7300019 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 6 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 37.96 |
| Airframe Hours | 3373.64 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Victor S. York |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Huntington |
| Aircraft Owner State | WV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 25705 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | HTW |
| Departure City | Huntington |
| Departure State | WV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 815 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PMH |
| Destination City | Portsmouth |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 10 2003 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 02 |
| Runway Length | 2300 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |