Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pilot Country Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Spring Hill, Florida 34610
Friday, April 16, 2004 12:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot/owner stated that he took off without performing a preflight inspection. He said he performed a run up, checked the magnetos, and did other "inside the cockpit" preparations. As he lifted off at 65 mph, he said the airplane did not immediately climb. He flew about 2/3 of the length of the runway, at an altitude of about 15 or 20 feet, and when he pitched the airplane's nose up, the engine started to sputter. He said reached forward and immediately switched the fuel selector valve from the right tank to the left tank, and the engine sputtered for another second and then ceased operating. The pilot made a forced landing to a field, and during the landing the airplane incurred damage. According to the pilot, the engine ceased operating due to the presence of water in the fuel.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, which resulted in a loss of engine power during takeoff/initial climb due to fuel contamination, that resulted in a forced landing
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/16/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Spring Hill |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34610 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 281949N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0822947W |
| Event Location Airport | Pilot Country |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | X05 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 80 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 350 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TPA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 26 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 130 |
| 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) | 30.27 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1000 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18314 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 16 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| 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 | Tampa, Florida |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N199RD |
| NTSB Number | MIA04LA075 |
| 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 | Richard A. Denisar |
| Aircraft Model | RV-4 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1566 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Richard A. Denisar |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 230 Clifton Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mount Holly |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 08060 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | X05 |
| Departure City | Spring Hill |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1230 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GIF |
| Destination City | New Port Richey |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 12 2005 10:47AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 3700 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |