Brazoria County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Angleton, Texas 77515
Wednesday, June 11, 2003 10:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The amateur-built experimental airplane collided with terrain following a loss of control while attempting to land. As the airplane approached the displaced threshold, about 15-20 feet above ground level, it began to level off. The left wing dropped, and the airplane began to make a turn to the left. The bank continued and the airplane headed straight down. The airplane's nose impacted the ground at a 90-degree angle and was engulfed in flames. The pilot was working on a problem with his right fuel tank, and the purpose of the flight was to burn fuel from the right tank in an effort to empty it. Each tank was capable of holding about 80 gallons. The kit manufacturer stated that the airplane was not designed to fly with an imbalance of weight in the fuel tanks. He said that the airplane would be adversely affected if such an imbalance occurred, and that the airplane would not be maneuverable if one tank was full and the other empty. All flight manuals and written materials provided by the kit manufacture do not clearly state the lateral fuel imbalance limitations or prohibit flight with that condition.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's loss of lateral aircraft control. Also causal was the pilot's intentional flight with an asymmetrical fuel loading, and his improper use of the fuel system. A factor in the accident was the insufficient information provided by the kit manufacturer on lateral fuel imbalance limitations.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/11/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Angleton
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77515
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 290631N
Event Location Longitude 0952743W
Event Location Airport Brazoria County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LBX
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 25
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LBX
Elevation of weather observation facility 25
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 21
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.88
Density Altitude (feet) 1967
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16738
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 11 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 Dec 7 2004 11:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office HOU-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9043L
NTSB Number LAX03LA192
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Argus Aviation
Aircraft Model CA-7
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 007240
Certified Max Gross Weight 3770
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LTC Associated, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Rd, Ste 05
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LBX
Departure City Angleton
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 6 2004 6:07PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 7000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --