Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

North Baltimore, Ohio 45872
Thursday, July 31, 2003 19:55 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had purchased the airplane from a previous owner, and performed some modifications, which included installing "one-half of a Volkswagen automobile engine." The accident flight was pilot's first flight in the airplane. After the pilot departed his private airstrip, witnesses observed the airplane about 100 feet above the ground, and heard a fluctuation in engine power. The airplane subsequently impacted a field about 1 mile east of the airstrip. The airplane impacted in a flat attitude, with no horizontal movement. There was no indication of engine power at the accident site, and the fuel tank had been compromised during the impact.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall during an emergency landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/31/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1955
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City North Baltimore
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45872
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 411030N
Event Location Longitude 0834100W
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 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1956 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID FDY
Elevation of weather observation facility 813
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9000
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) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15761
NTSB Notification Source Great Lakes Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
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 Cleveland, Ohio

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7075Y
NTSB Number NYC03LA171
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Stewart
Aircraft Model Hummel Bird
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6200
Certified Max Gross Weight 530
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald W. Stewart
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cygnet
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43413
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City North Baltimore
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1950
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 26 2004 3:11PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
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 --