Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Augusta Regional At Bush Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Augusta, Georgia 30901
Monday, June 16, 2003 13:02 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness at the airport stated the airplane appeared to use half of the 8,000-foot runway on takeoff roll, and the climb out appeared "very flat." During climbout, the pilot reported to the tower controller the airplane "lost an engine," and he announced intentions to return to the runway. The controller stated he noticed the airplane continued straight out and appeared to be losing altitude. Witnesses north of the airport observed the airplane flying low and described its engine noises as "erratic," "skipping," "sputtering," and "some sort of backfire." One witness stated the airplane was moving slowly to the north with a high nose-up angle, and the airplane "appeared to stall" then dove vertically into the trees. Examination of the accident site revealed wreckage debris and broken trees were scattered approximately 120 feet. The airframe, engines, and the right propeller sustained fire damage. The left propeller, top forward portion of the left engine case, and the left propeller gear shaft and bearings were not located. Examination of recovered components revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction could be determined. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook for the Piper PA-31P, the stall speed for the airplane with the gear and flaps up is: "(7800 lbs) 80 KCAS, 81 KIAS."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering on initial take off climb resulting in an inadvertent stall, loss of control, and subsequent in-flight collision with trees and a swamp. A factor in the accident was a reported loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1302 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Augusta |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30901 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332211N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0815752W |
| Event Location Airport | Augusta Regional at Bush Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KAGS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1.7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 353 |
| Airport Elevation | 145 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1300 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KAGS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 145 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 40 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2105 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KAGS 161653Z 05012KT 10SM TS FEW047 29/21 A3 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17082 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 16 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 27 2005 3:52PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Atlanta FSDO-11 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N577FS |
| NTSB Number | ATL03FA107 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-31P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 31P-7730008 |
| 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 | May 29 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4412 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Gold Wing Transportation, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 34265 Highway 25N |
| Aircraft Owner City | Golden |
| Aircraft Owner State | MS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 38847 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Rivercross Investment Corp. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 3123 Washington Road |
| Operator City | Augusta |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30907 |
| 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 | KAGS |
| Departure City | Augusta |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1259 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | K01M |
| Destination City | Belmont |
| Destination State | MS |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 35 |
| Runway Length | 8001 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |