Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Gadsden Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gadsden, Alabama 35901
Monday, June 30, 2003 15:33 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was departing with heavy rain and thunderstorms in the vicinity. During takeoff roll, a witness observed debris in the air around the airplane as soon as it lifted off the runway, then heard two "thump" noises from the engine followed by engine whining. The airplane continued airborne, then veered left and descended. The airplane rolled approximately 90 degrees, and the pilot ejected. Objects that had been stowed in the nose compartment of the airplane were found on the runway near the point where the airplane rotated. The left access panel for the nose compartment was found separated from the airframe with the upper hinges absent. The left panel displayed fire damage and extensive crush deformation with the fasteners on the panel lower edge attached. The right access panel for the nose compartment was found attached at the upper hinges to the upper nose compartment structure. The right panel and nose compartment structure displayed no fire damage and exhibited minor bending deformation and scratches in the paint. The fasteners on the right panel lower edge were absent. According to a chart published by Czech Jet, for single-seat ejection from the aircraft, the lowest minimum altitude for ejection with 90 degrees of bank is approximately 1,100 feet above the ground, and the lowest minimum altitude for ejection with zero degrees of bank is less than zero feet above the ground.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power during takeoff due to foreign object damage, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain during forced landing. Factors were the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane, his failure to secure the cargo/baggage door, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane prior to ejecting from the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/30/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1533 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gadsden |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35901 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335821N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0860520W |
| Event Location Airport | Gadsden Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KGAD |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 569 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1535 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 240 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KGAD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 569 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.21 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1622 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KGAD 301955Z AUTO 00000KT 5SM SCT002 26/23 A |
| 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) | 15816 |
| NTSB Notification Source | |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 30 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1701 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 29 2004 7:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO - 09 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8125R |
| NTSB Number | ATL03LA113 |
| 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 | Aero Vodochody Aero Works |
| Aircraft Model | L39C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 332449 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10400 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 5 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 933 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Jet Team LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4029 Braeburn Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Muskegon |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49441 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Elmo Eugene Hahn III |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | KGAD |
| Departure City | Gadsden |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1533 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KMKG |
| Destination City | Muskegon |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 2 2004 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 6 |
| Runway Length | 6803 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |