Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Big Flat, Arkansas 72617
Sunday, October 16, 2005 16:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 345-hour private pilot completed a detailed preflight inspection and determined he had 26 gallons of fuel on-board for a cross-country flight. He then departed his home airfield, to pick up a passenger at another airfield approximately 17 nautical miles away The pilot then departed for another airfield located about 76 nautical miles away; no problems were noted during these flights. However, ten minutes after departing his last airfield, the engine experienced a loss of RPM. The pilot ran the emergency checklist and searched for a place to land as the airplane was unable to maintain altitude. The airplane had experienced several loss of engine power events before, but each time the pilot was able to make a safe landing. The first time was shortly after being sold to a new buyer; an inspection of the airplane's fuel tanks, revealed contamination in the form of "beads" in the fuel tank. Shortly after having the tanks flushed, the second loss of power event happened, (after each event, and after the airplane had landed the engine would produce power again). The carburetor was examined and the airplane returned to service. Approximately 15-30 hours later, another loss of power event happened. This time the carburetor was sent to a repair facility, which rebuilt the carburetor and told the owner that a "wrong jet" had been installed in the carburetor. The airplane then flew another 50-60 hours without a re-occurrence. The airplane's original fuel caps were replaced, sometime prior to the accident. The fuel caps installed on the airplane were an aftermarket design, with the label "2646V" inked on the top of the caps. The vent holes in these caps were less than half the size of the original fuel caps. Additionally, it was possible for the gasket (in the fuel cap) to cover one or both of the vent holes. A review of the airplane's records failed to reveal when the original fuel caps were replaced. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/16/2005
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1615
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Big Flat
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72617
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363013N
Event Location Longitude 0922517W
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 1555 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID FLP
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
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 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19514
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Oct 17 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
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 FSDO, Little Rock, AR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N72901
NTSB Number DFW06LA007
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 10095
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2004 12:00AM
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 Virgil Young
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4901 N. Hills Blvd
Aircraft Owner City North Little Rock
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 72116
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Adam Young
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 4529 Dawson Drive
Operator City North Little Rock
Operator State AR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 72116
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 3M0
Departure City LAKEVIEW
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code CWS
Destination City CONWAY
Destination State AR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 7 2006 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --