Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Inverness Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Inverness, Florida 34452
Thursday, September 16, 2004 18:48 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During climbout about 300 feet above the ground, the airplane's engine lost power down to 2000 rpm. The student pilot reported it audibly "lost a cylinder." He stated the EGT showed very hot on the No. 3 cylinder. He stated he verified the mixture was at full rich, and he reduced throttle a little, but the EGT did not improve. He stated he returned to full throttle and almost immediately the "engine stopped hard" within two seconds, and the airframe shook heavily. He glided the airplane toward a road, and the airplane collided with trees and the ground. Examination of the engine revealed compression developed on all four cylinders when the crankshaft was rotated at the propeller flange. Valve train continuity was observed, and both magnetos produced spark on all towers. The air intake box displayed crush damage. The lower engine cowling was removed, and the carburetor was found separated from the intake manifold. The manifold mount studs displayed chafing, one manifold mount stud was bent. One mounting nut and two flat washers were found in the cowling, and the other mounting nuts were not located.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The improper installation of the carburetor which resulted in a loss of engine power and subsequent collision with trees during an emergency landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/16/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1848 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Inverness |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34452 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 284831N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821859W |
| Event Location Airport | Inverness |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KX40 |
| 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 | 190 |
| Airport Elevation | 50 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1835 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 17 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KOCF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 89 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 22 |
| 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) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| 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) | 29.89 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KOCF 162255Z AUTO 23008KT 10SM CLR 29/21 A29 |
| 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) | 17885 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 16 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1952 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 7 2005 10:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Tampa FSDO - 35 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4647Z |
| NTSB Number | ATL04LA187 |
| 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-22-108 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 22-8169 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1650 |
| 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 | Mar 24 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 46.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 2376.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Albert James Verka |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 212 Midtown Terrace |
| Aircraft Owner City | Inverness |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34452 |
| 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 | KX40 |
| Departure City | Inverness |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1846 |
| 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 | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 19 2005 10:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 19 |
| Runway Length | 3762 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |