Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hampton Bays, New York 11968
Sunday, July 20, 2003 21:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane had just leveled off at 2,000 feet msl, on a night, over-water, non-scheduled passenger flight, when the engine began to lose power. The pilot immediately turned the auxiliary fuel pump on, switched fuel tanks, and turned towards land. The engine continued to lose power, and the pilot prepared the airplane and the four passengers for a water landing. The pilot pushed the mixture control level full forward, and completed the emergency checklist items; however, the engine continued to lose power and could not be restarted. The airplane came to rest in approximately 8 feet of water, about 150 yards off shore. Examination of the airplane revealed approximately 50 gallons of fuel onboard, and no anomalies were noted with the fuel system. The engine was test run on the airframe, after the oil and spark plugs (electrodes were wet) were removed and replaced. After several attempts, the engine started and ran at various power settings without interruption. The ignition switch was also tested and no abnormalities were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/20/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2110
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Hampton Bays
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11968
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405734N
Event Location Longitude 0721506W
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2053 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID KFOK
Elevation of weather observation facility 67
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
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) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) 602
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 5
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 5
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14447
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 20 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2215
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FARMINGDALE FAA/FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N155RR
NTSB Number IAD03LA066
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T210N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21063286
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
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 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 23 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 61.4
Airframe Hours 3264.2
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AIR HAMPTONS
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City RONKONKOMA
Operator State NY
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 11779
Operator Code H79A
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HTO
Departure City EAST HAMPTON
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2100
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LGA
Destination City LA GUARDIA
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 16 2003 7:22AM
User who most recently changed record COXP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --