Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Moraine Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
West Carrollton, Ohio 45401
Friday, July 1, 2005 10:40 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot flew to the airport 2 days prior to the accident, and parked the airplane. On the day of the accident the airplane was fueled with 33.1 gallons fuel, and the pilot conducted a "thorough" preflight inspection, which included taking fuel samples from the sump drains. Upon takeoff from runway 26, the pilot smelled smoke, but elected to not abort the takeoff due to insufficient remaining runway. The airplane climbed to an altitude of 500 feet, when the pilot felt that "things just weren't right," and he elected to return to the airport. As he banked the airplane to the left, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot then performed a forced landing, where the airplane struck trees, and subsequently impacted the ground. Prior to the accident, a witness observed the pilot conduct a high-speed taxi down the runway, exiting the runway at the midfield point, and begin to taxi towards the run-up area. Approximately 5 minutes later, the witness heard the airplane's engine sputter as it passed mid-field. The airplane was already airborne, and it seemed like it was having trouble climbing over the river levy, located at the departure end of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left and right wing fuel filler openings displayed "heavy" corrosion. Their respective filler cap gaskets were worn and flattened, and did not form an effective seal. The engine was removed from the airframe and placed on a test stand. The engine was started, and ran with no abnormalities noted. A fuel sample device was found in the wreckage. Examination of the fuel sample device revealed loose sediment and debris in the bottom of the cup, and it smelled of must, which was consistent with lack of recent use. Review of recorded weather that about .35 inches of rain fell on the day prior to the accident, while the airplane was parked outside.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection that resulted in fuel contamination and a subsequent loss of engine power. A factor related to the accident was the deteriorated fuel cap seals.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/1/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1040 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | West Carrollton |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 45401 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 394057N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0841434W |
| Event Location Airport | Moraine Air Park |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | I73 |
| 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 | 720 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MGY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 957 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| 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) | 29.84 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20377 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-GROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 1 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 3 2006 2:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Cincinnati, OH |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3992R |
| NTSB Number | NYC05LA111 |
| 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-28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 287105096 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2552 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 3400 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Graphic Tolls Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Cumming |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30040 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | GVL |
| Departure City | Gainesville |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | I73 |
| Destination City | Dayton |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 23 2006 1:48PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| 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 | -- |