Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Canton-Plymouth-Mettetal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Plymouth, Michigan 48170
Saturday, July 31, 2004 15:19 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was destroyed during a post-impact ground fire, following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. The pilot reported he had landed and shut down the engine for a few minutes prior to loading his two passengers for a local flight. The pilot stated the airplane contained 35 gallons of fuel prior to the accident flight. The pilot reported the engine "shuddered" during takeoff roll and he aborted the takeoff. The pilot stated he then performed an engine run-up check and the engine "felt fine." The airplane experienced a loss of engine power while on the second takeoff attempt. The pilot stated he maneuvered the airplane to land on a nearby road and it impacted a road sign prior to coming to stop. An on-ground fire engulfed the airplane shortly thereafter. There were no anomalies noted with the engine during a post-accident operational test. The outside temperature at the time of the accident was approximately 28 degrees Celsius. A condition known as vapor lock can occur when engine heats the fuel lines and the contained fuel becomes a vapor. This tendency is increased if the fuel in the tank is warm, commonly as a result of high atmospheric temperatures. The fuel vapor can result in partial or complete interruption of fuel flow to the engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power at a low altitude due to a fuel flow restriction caused by vapor lock. Factors to the accident included the high atmospheric temperature and the road sign that the airplane impacted during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/31/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1519 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Plymouth |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48170 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 422053N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0832723W |
| Event Location Airport | Canton-Plymouth-Mettetal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1D2 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 135 |
| Airport Elevation | 696 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 211 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | YIP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 716 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2453 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16476 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 31 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2000 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 28 2004 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Federal Aviation Administration - Detroit FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N77782 |
| NTSB Number | CHI04CA210 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28RT-201T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28R-8231044 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 15 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 23 |
| Airframe Hours | 1285.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Mark Conrad Smith, LLC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 348 Tioga Trail |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wood Dale |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60191 |
| 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 | 1D2 |
| Departure City | Plymouth |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1519 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 1D2 |
| Destination City | Plymouth |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing after takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 30 2004 4:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 2556 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |