Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hartford Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hartford, Wisconsin 53027
Sunday, May 9, 2004 15:55 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was damaged during a forced landing, following a loss of engine power during initial climb. The pilot reported there were no anomalies with the operation of either magneto and there was no indication of carburetor ice accumulation during the pretakeoff engine tests. The pilot stated he experienced an uneventful takeoff roll and climb out until approximately 350 feet above ground level, at which time the engine lost power. The pilot, who was seated in the rear seat, instructed the pilot-rated passenger to switch fuel tanks, check the position of the magneto switch, and to select carburetor heat on. The pilot stated there was no change in the engine operation and he performed a forced landing into an open field. The main landing gear collapsed when it encountered the soft terrain condition. Subsequent to the accident, two gallons of fuel were recovered from the fuel system and the samples did not contain water or particulate contamination. The damaged propeller was replaced with a serviceable propeller so that an engine operational test could be accomplished. The engine started and idled between 550 and 600 rpm. The engine was then accelerated to 3,350 rpm and no anomalies were noted during the test.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor to the accident was the soft terrain encountered during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/9/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1555 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Hartford |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 53027 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 432100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0882330W |
| Event Location Airport | Hartford Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HXF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1070 |
| 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) | 70 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ETB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 886 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 140 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1759 |
| 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) | 15851 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 9 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1824 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 29 2004 7:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Federal Aviation Administration - Milwaukee FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2368M |
| NTSB Number | CHI04CA118 |
| 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-12 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 12-1500 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| 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 | Apr 20 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 18.7 |
| Airframe Hours | 3755.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Paul L. Behrens |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 9401 Woodbay Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Tampa |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33626 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | HXF |
| Departure City | Hartford |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1555 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | HXF |
| Destination City | Hartford |
| Destination State | WI |
| 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 | May 24 2004 4:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| 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 | -- |