Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Scottsboro Municipal Word Fiel Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Scottsboro, Alabama 35768
Thursday, June 19, 2003 13:13 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The passenger said they departed St Simons Island, Georgia at about 10:00 am estimated. Their destination was Nashville, Tennessee to stop for fuel then they were to continue on to Chicago, Illinois. The passenger continued by saying that they had encountered some storm trouble somewhere in Georgia and had taken a detour. The pilot was flying the airplane on autopilot when she noticed the engine lost power. The pilot then took control of the airplane and started speaking with someone on the radio. He stated he had engine problems and needed to know where the closest airport was. The person on the radio stated that they could not see them on radar. Then stated that the closest airport was three to five miles, and the pilot responded that they could not make that three miles. The pilot stated that they were going to try and land the airplane in a field. The passenger said they circled around the field maybe two times then flew straight into a wooded area. Examination of the right wing found it attached to the fuselage and angled up about 35-degrees supported by tree branches. The right wing fuel tanks were breached in the accident and no fuel was evident. The left main and auxiliary fuel tanks were intact with about 13 gallons of fuel remaining. The fuel selector was on the right tank. Nothing was found during the course of the investigation that would have precluded this engine from producing power prior to impact.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel management which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and subsequent impact with trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/19/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1313 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Scottsboro |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35768 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344125N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0860122W |
| Event Location Airport | Scottsboro Municipal Word Fiel |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4A6 |
| 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 | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 640 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 267 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HSV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 629 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2700 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 8 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| 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) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2210 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17523 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 19 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1445 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 28 2005 2:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N270LM |
| NTSB Number | ATL03FA114 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-301T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-57006 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 25 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 36.2 |
| Airframe Hours | 1468.1 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert Jackson Mills |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2660 Frederica Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Saint Simons Island |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 31522 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SSI |
| Departure City | Saint Simons Is |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 923 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BNA |
| Destination City | Nashville |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| 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 | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 03 |
| Runway Length | 5250 |
| Runway Width | 80 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |