Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mocksville, North Carolina 27055
Saturday, October 15, 2005 18:20 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness stated he observed the airplane depart to the north and climb to about 500 feet. The witness observed the airplane make a steep left 90-degree bank back towards the runway, in a slight nose down attitude. The witness then observed the nose and wings of the airplane come back to a level attitude. The witness stated the airplane appeared to be "mushing/dropping" down in a flat slight nose down attitude until it disappeared from view. Two hunters stated they observed the airplane at tree top level circling. The hunters stated the engine sounded like it was shutting down and quit. They then heard a sound like the pilot was attempting to restart the engine. The hunters lost sight of the airplane and heard it collide with the ground, followed by smoke rising above the trees. Examination of the crash site revealed the fuselage forward of the vertical stabilizer was destroyed by fire except for the outer 1/3 of the left and right wing. The right main fuel tank had been ruptured and received fire damage. The left main fuel tank was not ruptured and fire damage was present on the exterior of the fuel tank. The left fuel cap was removed and no fuel was present. The inside of the fuel tank revealed a shinny interior. The fuel selector valve was removed and a functional check revealed no anomalies. The left wing fuel sump was opened and no fuel was present. The left and right fuel selector knobs were located in the wreckage and the fuel selector handle was positioned on the right main fuel tank. Witnesses who were present when the pilot departed stated, the airplane had been topped off with 70.2 gallons of low lead fuel earlier in the day. The pilot had flown 5 flights after the airplane was refueled for 1 hour and 25 minutes before the accident. Review of Pratt and Whitney 1340-AN-1 engine operational data revealed the engine will burn 35 to 40 gallons of fuel per hour at cruise power settings. At maximum takeoff power the engine will burn up to 70 gallons of fuel per hour.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel management resulting in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and an in-flight collision with trees and the ground.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/15/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1820 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Mocksville |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27055 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 360250N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0803024W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1854 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 280 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | INT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 969 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| 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) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.83 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19124 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communications Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 15 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2006 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Greensboro FSDO-05 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N494S |
| NTSB Number | ATL06LA007 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | North American |
| Aircraft Model | AT-6D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 42-44681 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5300 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5261 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Fred A. Smith |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 132 Deerfield Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mocksville |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27028 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Mocksville |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 23 2005 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |