Lone Star Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Conroe, Texas 77303
Monday, March 15, 2004 7:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 2,500-hour pilot reported that the engine lost power during cruise flight while the airplane was in instrument meteorological conditions. As the airplane descended below the cloud layer, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a small field. An employee of a fixed base operator reported that he mistakenly refueled the airplane with 53-gallons of Jet-A fuel instead of 100 Low Lead fuel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to the improper fuel type. Contributing factors were the improper aircraft servicing, lack of training by the fixed base operator, and the low cloud ceiling.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/15/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 730
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Conroe
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77303
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 302106N
Event Location Longitude 0952452W
Event Location Airport Lone Star Regional Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CXO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 245
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID CXO
Elevation of weather observation facility 245
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Partial Obscuration
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Indefinite (V V)
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) 156
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16072
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 15 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1235
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N789SA
NTSB Number FTW04LA092
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 Beech
Aircraft Model A36
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number E3173
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 Apr 5 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 400
Airframe Hours 1100
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David W. King
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1017 River Road
Aircraft Owner City Johns Island
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29455
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code CXO
Departure City Conroe
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 725
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Wichita
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jun 28 2004 2:30PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
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 --