Chesterfield County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richmond, Virginia 23832
Friday, September 24, 2004 18:20 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After an uneventful departure from the airport, as the airplane was turned to enter the traffic pattern, the engine lost power. The pilot elected to conduct a 180-degree left turn to return to the airport, and during the turn, he overshot the runway. He then turned the airplane to the right to realign with the runway, and at 50 feet above the ground, the right wing stalled. The airplane continued to roll to the right and would not respond to aileron inputs. The airplane impacted a grass area next to the runway; ground looped, and came to rest. Examination of the wreckage revealed that when fuel was drained from the carburetor bowl, the fuel was consistent with automotive fuel, and was contaminated with water and other foreign object debris. A witness stated that the pilot had experienced a similar problem with a sputtering engine on the day prior to the accident, and executed an uneventful forced landing to the airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection which resulted in fuel contamination and a subsequent loss of engine power. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while attempting a forced landing which resulted in an inadvertent stall followed by the airplane impacting a grassy area next to the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/24/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1820
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Richmond
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23832
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372423N
Event Location Longitude 0773129W
Event Location Airport Chesterfield County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FCI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 237
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1754 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID RIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 250
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 19586
NTSB Notification Source RIC FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Sep 27 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond, VA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N665WB
NTSB Number NYC04LA219
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 de Havilland
Aircraft Model DHC-22A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number C1-0113
Certified Max Gross Weight 2100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 4435
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert L. Tomlinson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Sandston
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23150
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 FCI
Departure City Richmond
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1900
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 Feb 1 2006 5:50PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --