Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Immokalee, Florida 34142
Tuesady, February 3, 2004 10:15 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that the airplane was in cruise flight, at an altitude of 4,500 feet, when he detected a slight engine vibration. He noted that the fuel consumption had increased from the usual 12.5 gals/hr to 15.7 gals/hr, at 2,300 rpm and a manifold pressure of 30.00. Shortly thereafter he said the engine ceased operating. and he made a forced landing to the field. During the landing rollout the airplane incurred damage. An FAA airframe and powerplant mechanic with an inspection authorization rating, who responded to the scene of the accident stated that he found the B-nut on the inlet side of the fuel flow divider loose, about one full turn. In addition he said he saw signatures consistent with a leak which originated at the B-nut and ran down the right front of the engine case. Follow-on examination of the accident airplane revealed that at the connection of the B-nut on the fuel inlet line to the manifold, there was torque putty on the threaded connection on the manifold side, and no putty was observed on the B-nut. In addition, when conditions were recreated and the engine given a test run, when the electric fuel boost pump turned on, fuel leaked from around the B-nut. According to the airplane's engine log book, the engine had been rebuilt by Teledyne Continental Motors, and shipped to Mod Works Inc., Punta Gorda, Florida, who installed it in the accident airplane on March 03, 2003. At the time of the accident the engine had accumulated a total time of 80 hours since installation, and had received two previous oil changes, all of which had been performed by Mod Works Inc.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to the airplane mechanic's improper maintenance/installation and failure to ensure that the B-nut on the inlet side of the fuel manifold was properly tightened, which resulted in a fuel leak, and fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/3/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1015 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Immokalee |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34142 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 262559N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0812404W |
| 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 | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 953 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 218 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | APF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 9 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| 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) | 30.15 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18132 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 3 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1040 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 13 2005 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Miami, Florida |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N252WF |
| NTSB Number | MIA04LA050 |
| 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 | Mooney |
| Aircraft Model | M20K |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-1189 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 3 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 80 |
| Airframe Hours | 1680 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | George M. Darnell |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 721 Biltmore Way Unit 902 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Coral Gables |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33134 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | TMB |
| Departure City | Miami |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PGD |
| Destination City | Punta Gorda |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 17 2005 3:13PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |