Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Davenport Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Davenport, Iowa 52803
Wednesday, October 15, 2003 22:17 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with a corn crop following a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff. The pilot stated that during another flight earlier on the day of the accident, he noticed an odor of fuel. He was unable to identify the source of the smell. The airplane operated normally and the fuel flow was normal. The pilot reported that during the next flight, he was once again able to smell fuel and when climbing through 3,000 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine. After landing in the corn field, smoke entered the cabin. Post accident inspection of the engine revealed the nozzle pressure port plug on the aft side of the fuel manifold valve was not in place, nor was it located. Blue fuel stains were evident under the left magneto and on the engine case under the right cylinders. The plug hole and the area surrounding the hole were inspected and there was no evidence of torque putty (Loctite) having been used when the plug was installed. The injector line fittings and the fuel inlet fitting had torque putty applied to them. The engine had operated 10.1 hours since it was overhauled. Continental Motors reviewed their build-up procedures for the IO-550 engines and determined that the requirement for applying Loctite to the suspect fitting had been removed from the procedures. Continental Motors subsequently issued a Quality Alert re-inserting the requirement for Loctite to be applied to the nozzle pressure port plug at installation. The procedures manual and build-up instructions for the IO-550 were also revised to include the requirement that Loctite be applied to the plug.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the improper installation of the fuel nozzle. Also causal was the engine manufacturer's improper installation instructions for the nozzle pressure port plug on the fuel manifold valve. A factor associated with the accident was the corn crop which was contacted during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/15/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 2217 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Davenport |
| Event State | IOWA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 52803 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413637N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0903518W |
| Event Location Airport | Davenport Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DVN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 753 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2200 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MLI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 590 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 7500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 359 |
| 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) | 17546 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 15 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2248 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 28 2005 2:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Des Moines, IA FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N25496 |
| NTSB Number | CHI04LA019 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | A36 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | E-2305 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3650 |
| 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 | Oct 3 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 6091 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Roy J. Carver, Jr. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2129 St. Andrews Circle |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bettendork |
| Aircraft Owner State | IA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 52722 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Carver Aero |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 9230 N. Harrison Street |
| Operator City | Davenport |
| Operator State | IA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 52806 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| 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 | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | DVN |
| Departure City | Davenport |
| Departure State | IA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2210 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MDW |
| Destination City | Chicago |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |