Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Parkland, Florida 33319
Wednesday, March 3, 2004 15:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that an earlier flight had occurred, and that fuel had been ordered, but it was not delivered and placed in the airplane's fuel tanks. He further stated that the refueling error was not detected during the preflight inspection. He said they departed from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, and flew to the practice area to perform aerobatics, and as he rolled the airplane inverted, the engine hesitated. He said he immediately recognized that the airplane had not been refueled after the previous flight. Rather than fly over populated areas, the pilot said he elected to make a precautionary landing on a dirt road close to the practice area, and during the rollout the airplane veered to the left, off the dirt road and nosed over into a water filled canal, incurring damage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in an off-airport precautionary landing to preclude fuel exhaustion, which resulted in damage to the airplane during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/3/2004
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Parkland
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33319
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 261150N
Event Location Longitude 0801014W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID FXE
Elevation of weather observation facility 14
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.23
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15569
NTSB Notification Source FAA ATL Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 3 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1555
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 Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N61PS
NTSB Number MIA04CA055
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 Aviat
Aircraft Model Pitts S2B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 5230
Certified Max Gross Weight 1700
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 12 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 83
Airframe Hours 2201
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David J. Swartz
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4820 NW 8th Drive
Aircraft Owner City Plantation
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33317
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 FXE
Departure City Fort Lauderdale
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code FXE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 3:25PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --