Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Shirley, New York 11967
Saturday, May 8, 2004 17:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane and departed for a local flight. Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, he noticed a drop in engine oil pressure and RPM. Shortly thereafter, the engine lost all power and the pilot performed a successful forced landing to a parking lot. After landing, the pilot exited the airplane and observed smoke and fire emanating from the cowling. He also observed that the engine cowling plugs were still in place. The fire spread and consumed the airplane. Examination of the of the engine did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate pre-flight inspection, which resulted in his failure to remove the engine inlet covers and subsequent loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/8/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Shirley
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 11967
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405103N
Event Location Longitude 0725235W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1656 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID HWV
Elevation of weather observation facility 81
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.39
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16185
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date May 8 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1840
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 Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Farmingdale

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1754D
NTSB Number NYC04LA120
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20344
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 25 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 3986
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeff A. Miller
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lake Ronkonkoma
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11779
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 HWV
Departure City Shirley
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1640
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 9 2004 2:57PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
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 --