Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Thackers Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Oil City, Louisiana 71061
Monday, May 10, 2004 16:12 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The single-engine airplane impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power after takeoff. According to a witness, who was at the airport and observed the airplane takeoff from the 2,900-feet long by 50-feet wide turf runway, the airplane made a "slight" descent after liftoff, pitched up, then subsequently stalled. Another witness recalled hearing a "chugging" noise coming from the airplane's engine. The airplane impacted terrain at a nose-low attitude, left bank, rotated 180 degrees, and came to rest in an open grass field, approximately 100 feet to the left of the centerline and 102 feet from the departure end of the runway. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel selector valve was found in the right tank position, the throttle was full forward, the primer was locked, and the mixture was near the idle cut-off position. Flight control continuity was established. Both main fuel tanks were breached. The gascolator was observed to be dry. An area several feet in diameter of dead grass was evident beneath both fuel tank areas. Further examination of the engine established valve train continuity through the accessory gears. The spark plugs were removed and the engine was rotated by hand from the propeller flange. Compression was noted on all cylinders and spark was obtained from both magnetos during rotation. All of the cylinders were inspected using a lighted borescope. No anomalies were noted. The number 1 and 3 cylinder bottom spark plugs were found to have excessive lead fouling at the electrodes. Fuel was observed in the electric boost pump. The fuel screen was observed to be clean. The induction air filter was found fuel soaked. The carburetor fuel inlet screen housing was fractured. The carburetor was removed and dissembled. Metal floats were observed, and the fuel bowl was found empty. The engine fuel lines were destroyed. The crankshaft propeller flange and exhaust system were bent aft. The oil cooler exhibited impact damage, and a hole was observed in the oil sump at the rear of the engine below the accessory housing. The last annual inspection was completed on February 7, 2003, and was signed off by an A&P. The engine had been removed from another airplane on July 25, 2001, at a time of 283.42 SMOH. The approximate time since major overhaul TSMOH was 1,520.75 hours. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the student pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in a stall..
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/10/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1612 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Oil City |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 71061 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 324718N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0935715W |
| Event Location Airport | Thackers Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 5F8 |
| 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 | 202 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1556 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 342 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SHV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 258 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 22 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1837 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16076 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 10 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1725 |
| 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 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N24007 |
| NTSB Number | FTW04LA125 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-38-112 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 38-79A1074 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 30 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5381.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Vernon L. Murphy |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 85 Valley Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Texarkana |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75503 |
| 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 | 5F8 |
| Departure City | Oil City |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1612 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TXK |
| Destination City | Texarkana |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 28 2004 2:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |