Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Lakeland/Noble F. Lee Memorial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Woodruff, Wisconsin 54568
Sunday, May 25, 2003 17:54 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The twin-engine airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain shortly after takeoff. The airplane was consumed in a post-impact fire. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane climbing at a lower than normal rate just after takeoff. One witness did not hear the airplane. Another witness reported that the airplane sounded labored and this is what drew his attention to the airplane. The airplane came to rest in a wooded area about 3,500 feet from the departure end of the runway, and 700 feet left of the extended runway centerline. The wreckage path through the trees was about 65 degrees left of the runway heading. The first piece of wreckage along the wreckage trail was the left wingtip. Examination of the right propeller revealed chordwise scratching, leading edge damage, and bending and twisting opposite to the direction of rotation. In addition, several tree cuts were observed that were predominately on the right side of the wreckage path. No evidence of rotation was noted with respect to the left propeller, propeller blades, or propeller spinner. On-scene examination revealed no pre-impact anomalies with respect to the airframe, right engine, or right propeller. Follow-on examination of the left engine and propeller revealed no pre-impact anomalies. Calculations based on the power setting table, airspeed chart and en-route distance showed that the airplane would have burned a total of 56 to 71 gallons (28 to 35.5 gallons per side) of fuel for the previous leg of the round-trip flight. The main fuel tanks held a total of 112 gallons of fuel (56 gallons per side). Based on the fuel burn calculations, this quantity of fuel would not have been sufficient to complete the round-trip flight on the main fuel tanks alone. The outboard auxiliary fuel tanks held 40 gallons per side. The left fuel selector was found positioned to the inboard main fuel tank and the right fuel selector was found positioned to the outboard auxiliary fuel tank. The airplane flight manual for the airplane stipulates that only the main fuel tanks be used for takeoff and landing. No fuel was obtained for the return flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to follow the before take-off checklist which led to an improper selection of the auxilliary fuel tanks for the takeoff leading to the subsequent fuel starvation of the left engine. Additional causes were the pilot not maintaining minimum controllable airspeed which resulted in a loss of control of the ariplane. The trees and the pilot's unsuccessful attempt to restart the engine by selecting the main fuel tank were contributing factors in the accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/25/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1754 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Woodruff |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 54568 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 455650N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0894410W |
| Event Location Airport | LAKELAND/NOBLE F. LEE MEMORIAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ARV |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 330 |
| Airport Elevation | 1630 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1753 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ARV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1630 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 20 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.09 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16825 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 25 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1840 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 28 2004 12:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N36DR |
| NTSB Number | CHI03FA138 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-31P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 31P-7530025 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7800 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 11 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5384 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Navajo, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1258 MEADOWS RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | Geneva |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60134 |
| 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 | ARV |
| Departure City | Woodruff |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1750 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | DPA |
| Destination City | CHICAGO/WEST CH |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 5 2004 8:04AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 5150 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |