Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Huntsville International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Huntsville, Alabama 35801
Friday, November 19, 2004 21:30 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was being vectored for the ILS 18L approach when the pilot reported a loss of engine power approximately 7 miles from the airport at an altitude of approximately 2,000 feet mean sea level (MSL). The pilot stated that he switched main fuel tanks and performed the loss of power procedures as outlined in the Pilot's Operating Handbook, but his attempts to restore engine power were unsuccessful. The pilot performed an off-airport landing with the gear retracted, and the airplane collided with the ground and slid to a stop. The left main fuel tank and left tip tank were empty with no evidence of fuel leakage. Approximately 36 gallons of fuel was recovered from the right main fuel tank, and the right tip tank was empty with no evidence of fuel leakage. The fuel selector handle was positioned to the right tank. Examination of the engine revealed continuity from the cockpit throttle and mixture controls to the fuel servo. The exhaust pipe was crushed. Examination of the top spark plugs revealed no evidence of abnormal wear or deposits. In preparation for a test run, the damaged propeller was removed and a Hartzell three-bladed club prop was installed. A three-inch by three-inch hole was cut in the exhaust pipe above the crushed area to facilitate exhaust flow, and the air inlet was cleared of mud. A portable fuel tank was connected to the supply fitting at the right wing root, and the fuel recovered from the right wing tank was utilized for the test run. An engine start was accomplished utilizing the cockpit controls; the engine started within four to five seconds and was observed to run smoothly. The engine idled smoothly at 700 to 750 rpm, and the engine operated smoothly up to 1900 rpm; higher rpms was not attempted. A magneto check was performed at 1900 rpm, and a drop of 75 rpm was observed for each.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and a forced landing to an open field.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/19/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2130 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Huntsville |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35801 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 343825N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0864623W |
| Event Location Airport | Huntsville International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KHSV |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | 2119 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KHSV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 629 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | METAR KHSV 192353Z 11005KT 1 1/2SM -RA BR FEW003 O |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19849 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 19 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2335 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 28 2006 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO - 09 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N38047 |
| NTSB Number | ATL05CA027 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | A36TC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | EA-176 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Repro-Air, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 113 Barksdale Professional Center |
| Operator City | Newark |
| Operator State | DE |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 19711 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KSAT |
| Departure City | San Antonio |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KHSV |
| Destination City | Huntsville |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - Initial approach fix (IAF) to final approach fix (FAF)/outer marker (IFR) |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18L |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |