Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Marfa Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Marfa, Texas 79734
Sunday, December 21, 2003 15:30 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 420-hour pilot reported that prior to departure the airplane's fuel tanks were full. During the flight, he switched from the left fuel tank to the right, approximately one hour after takeoff. The pilot stated the total time en-route was three hours, and ten minutes. Prior to arrival, the pilot entered a left downwind for runway 03. Upon lowering the gear, a passenger informed the pilot that he noticed liquid on the left wheel. The pilot further stated while on final, he was a little high and opted to go-around. On the crosswind leg, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. Subsequently, the airplane landed hard in a field. After the evacuation, the pilot noticed, "fuel leaking from the engine area." During the on-scene examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, no visible signs of fuel were observed in the left wing fuel tank. Approximately six two eight ounces of fuel was drained from the ring wing fuel tank. The engine and airframe were found to be free of anomalies during the course of the investigation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/21/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1530 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Marfa |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79734 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 302217N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1040100W |
| Event Location Airport | Marfa Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MRF |
| 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 | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 4849 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1730 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MRF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4849 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 6179 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15694 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Pilot |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 22 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 930 |
| 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 | Lubbock FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4689Y |
| NTSB Number | FTW04LA047 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | T210N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 21063987 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4000 |
| 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 | May 1 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 92.9 |
| Airframe Hours | 9500.9 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John C Luddon |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 6822 W Linda Lane |
| Aircraft Owner City | Chandler |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85226 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | HPY |
| Departure City | Baytown |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1322 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | MRF |
| Destination City | Marfa |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Go-around (VFR) |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 29 2004 6:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 035 |
| Runway Length | 5239 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |