Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Knoxville Downtown Island Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901
Sunday, October 5, 2003 3:17 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he topped off both fuel tanks prior to departing Knoxville Downtown Island Airport. The airplane had extended range tanks and held 51 gallons of fuel. The pilot stated that there were 12 gallons of fuel in the left tank and 39 gallons of fuel in the right tank. The flight from Knoxville Downtown Island Airport to Auburn-Opelika Airport was uneventful. On the return trip, from Auburn to Knoxville, the pilot switched the fuel lever to the right fuel tank immediately after departure to compensate for the unequal fuel quantities. Approximately 8 miles east of the Knoxville Downtown Island Airport at 2500 feet, the airplane engine began to sputter and the pilot stated that he moved the fuel lever to the both tanks position. The airplane engine fired, ran shortly and then stopped. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and reported the engine failure to the air traffic controller. The pilot set up the airplane for a slow, full flap descent but was unable to see where to land due to the darkness. The right wing of the airplane struck a tree and the airplane came to rest in a small field. Examination of the airplane revealed the outer section of the right wing and wing strut detached, the nose gear detached and damage to the propeller. Blue fuel stains were found streaking along the top of the left wing and left side of the fuselage, and the left fuel cap was missing. A search for the fuel cap along the crash path and general area of the wreckage was unsuccessful. The examination found no usable fuel in either tank. The fuel caps on this airplane were aftermarket gas caps installed in accordance with STC # SA2376CE. The gas caps are designed to be twisted on and when the cap is completely rotated in a clockwise direction, it will stop in a locked position. The gas cap is visible from the ground but does not have any reference markings to allow a person to visually determine if the gas caps are properly locked in place. During the pilot's post-accident interview and his written statement, he did not report securing the fuel caps during the preflight inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection by his failure to secure the left fuel tank cap which resulted in fuel exhaustion, and the loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/5/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 317 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Knoxville |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 37901 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 355800N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821854W |
| Event Location Airport | Knoxville Downtown Island |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DKX |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 50 |
| Airport Elevation | 833 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 342 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TYS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 981 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 100 |
| 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) | 3 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 435 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17674 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 5 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 435 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2005 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA Com Center |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1919X |
| NTSB Number | ATL04LA008 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 182H |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18256019 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| 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 | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| 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 | J-Matt Corp |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3511 Silverside Rd. Ste 105 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wilmington |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19810 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Jerry L. Norton |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4415 Timberlake Dr. |
| Operator City | Louisville |
| Operator State | TN |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 37777 |
| 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 | AUO |
| Departure City | Auburn |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 100 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | DKX |
| Destination City | Knoxville |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 11 2005 1:09PM |
| User who most recently changed record | JOHB |
| 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 | -- |