Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Granbury, Texas 76049
Thursday, August 7, 2003 20:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A partial loss of engine power occured during a descent through 3,000 feet MSL. The 11,000-hour pilot stated the engine "ran rough for about 5 seconds, then went to 1,500 rpm." The pilot executed a forced landing into a nearby hay field. Engine continuity, compression and magnetos were checked and verified. The carburetor heat valve was intact; however, travel was partial due to the housing sliding in the clamp. The FAA inspector was unable to verify if fuel system was functional from the tank to the engine because the fuel had been removed. Maintenance records were reviewed and no anomalies noted. According to the aircraft's maintenance records, the most recent annual inspection was completed on July 14, 2003. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for an undetermined reason. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain available for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2030
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Granbury
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76049
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 321800N
Event Location Longitude 0974300W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) 2966
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14925
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 8 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 442
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:07AM
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 N9347T
NTSB Number FTW03LA192
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-38
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 38-78A0059
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 14 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Russell Stallings
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1815 Airport Drive
Aircraft Owner City San Marcos
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78666
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ray Stallings
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 9701 Airpark Drive
Operator City Granbury
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 76049
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 HYI
Departure City San Marcos
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 0TX1
Destination City Granbury
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Dec 31 2003 10:46AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --