Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Worth, Texas 76179
Friday, July 18, 2003 15:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot executed a forced landing following a loss of engine power during a go-around. The 1,834-hour pilot stated that en route, the engine performance "appeared normal," however, he stated that Air Traffic Control communications became difficult. He reported to have had intermittent radio trouble with Air Route Traffic Control Center and Approach Control. The pilot contacted Flight Service Station and obtained a frequency for the Regional Approach Control. He received a new frequency, squawk and an assigned heading and altitude. The pilot reported that he experienced intermittent radio contact and heard a loud "buzzing" noise in his headset. At this time, the fuel gages "showed" a sudden change, indicating low fuel. The pilot announced to Regional Approach Control (in the blind) that he had lost radio contact and would proceed directly to T67, in accordance with the flight plan. The pilot configured the airplane for an approach to Runway 32. As he continued the approach, he stated that he visually confirmed that the flaps were extended but the landing gear had not fully extended. The pilot elected to initiate a go-around. He "pushed" all of the power controls forward, however he heard the engine "sputter" and reported that it did not produce enough power to induce a positive rate of climb. An examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear was found in the retracted position, and the landing gear control switch was found in the gear down position. The battery was removed and a gravity test was performed. The results were that the battery was "dead." The alternator was removed, tested for function, and passed. A total of 31.5 gallons of fuel was removed from the aircraft. The mixture control was found halfway between the full-rich and cut-off position. The owner stated "the engine roughness was due to the pilot's failure to push the mixture control to the full-rich position prior to the approach/landing."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to the pilot's improper use of the mixture control. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to select the battery/alternator circuit, resulting in a loss of battery power, the pilot's failure to follow a checklist and the lack of suitable terrain for landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/18/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Fort Worth
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76179
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325552N
Event Location Longitude 0972442W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 850
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 54
Weather Observation Facility ID AFW
Elevation of weather observation facility 722
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7500
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) 38
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) 3668
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15683
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 18 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1724
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Fort Worth, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N44CN
NTSB Number FTW03LA189
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model 35-A33
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number CD-358
Certified Max Gross Weight 3100
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 Dec 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43.06
Airframe Hours 3545.44
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bryan S. Martin
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6851 NE Loop 820, Suite 212
Aircraft Owner City Fort Worth
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76180
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Roger Latham
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2200 Grace Ave
Operator City Fort Worth
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 76111
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 OCH
Departure City Nacogdoches
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code T67
Destination City Fort Worth
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Go-around (VFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Apr 26 2004 8:37PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --