Intermountain Muni. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mena, Arkansas 71953
Sunday, February 8, 2004 14:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After takeoff from runway 17 (a 6,000-foot-long and 100-foot-wide asphalt runway), the 5,625-hour air transport pilot made a left downwind departure and climbed to an altitude of 2,000 feet above ground level (agl), when the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to re-start the engine, but was unsuccessful. He turned left and aligned the airplane with the runway while descending. The pilot flew along the length of the runway, but never landed. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, he aligned the airplane with a taxiway, but decided to turn and land in an open clearing, where it struck trees and power lines. The engine was run on the airframe with the original bent propeller still installed for five minutes. After installation of a new propeller, and the engine was started, it ran continuously at various power settings without interruption. No mechanical deficiencies were noted. The airplane was out of annual inspection, and was being ferried to Houston, Texas where it was scheduled to undergo an annual inspection. The FAA issued the ferry permit based on the belief that the airplane had undergone an annual inspection over a year ago. Further examination revealed that the airplane had not received an annual inspection since 1988. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot's misjudgment of altitude and distance during the forced landing which resulted in a collision with trees and transmission wires.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/8/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Mena
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71953
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345814N
Event Location Longitude 0942209W
Event Location Airport Intermountain Muni. Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID M39
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1079
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.31
Density Altitude (feet) 261
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) 15520
NTSB Notification Source Southwest Region
NTSB Notification Date Feb 8 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1445
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N234DD
NTSB Number FTW04LA071
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 Beech
Aircraft Model BE-23
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number MC-129
Certified Max Gross Weight 2750
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Feb 7 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0.4
Airframe Hours 1218.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name The EFD Flying Group, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 891463
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77289
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Joe Anthony Salvato
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. Box 891463
Operator City Houston
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77289
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code M39
Departure City Mena
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code EFD
Destination City Houston
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2004 4:48PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 6000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --