Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Jay Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Jay, Florida 32565
Wednesday, September 3, 2003 13:40 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
!!THIS CASE IS BEING REEVALUATED!!
According to the pilot, he was performing aerial observation work, in a left hand circular pattern, at an altitude of 500 to 550 feet above the ground. He flew through an area of turbulence which he perceived to be prop wash from the previous circle. He rolled wings level and added full power to climb out of the turbulence, the engine did not respond to the power setting. The aircraft "settled" and went down in an area of pine trees. The passenger/observer in the back seat stated he looked up front to see the pilot "fighting with the controls" before impact. While waiting for rescue personnel, he said he "could smell the fuel leaking from the plane." Rescue personnel that responded to the accident stated that there was no odor of fuel or any other unusual smell present at the accident site. An examination conducted by the airplane manufacturer and engine manufacturer determined the fuel tanks were intact with no breaches observed. Inspection of the fuel system determined that there was fuel line continuity and only small amounts of fuel were found. No signs of fuel leakage were observed at the scene. According to the Cessna 172 Pilots Operating Handbook, the airplane has a fuel capacity of 43 gallons of which 40 are usable. A review of the airplane flight log shows that the airplane had an average fuel burn of 7.98 gallons per hour. At the time of the accident, the airplane had flown for approximately seven hours with only one refueling of 15.93 gallons since it had been topped off on August 29, 2003.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight/preparation which fail to assure an adequate fuel supply for the flight and his inadequate planning/decision to conduct flight to the point of fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/3/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1340 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Jay |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32565 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 305406N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0870707W |
| Event Location Airport | Jay Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FL96 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3.85 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 170 |
| Airport Elevation | 254 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1455 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 332 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KNSE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 150 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 19 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1900 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16394 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SE Reg Com Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 3 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1535 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N52615 |
| NTSB Number | MIA03TA175 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | Y |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17274564 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2400 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 21 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 50 |
| Airframe Hours | 5619 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Department |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5755 Milton Rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Milton |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32583 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | William Earl McKinnon |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 409 Navy Cove Bld |
| Operator City | Gulf Breeze |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 32561 |
| 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) | Public Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 16FL |
| Departure City | Jay |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1215 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 16FL |
| Destination City | Jay |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 12 2004 11:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 360 |
| Runway Length | 2400 |
| Runway Width | 135 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |