Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Auburn, Alabama 36801
Sunday, March 12, 2006 17:05 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated to a friend before he was transported to a local area hospital that he departed from a grass strip at Auburn Alabama. The airplane climbed to about 200 feet and the engine began to lose power. The pilot made a 180-degree turn to the left in an attempt to return to the airport. The airplane stalled and collided with the ground in a nose down attitude. Examination of the fuel system by the builder, and an airframe & powerplant mechanic revealed that fuel was leaking from the inlet side of the fuel pump on the forward side of the engine-mounted pump. Further examination of the fuel system lines revealed that the flexible urethane fuel line was hardened and leaking where the line was attached over a male barb fitting and secured with a 1/8-inch plastic wire tie. Behind the tie was an additional .32 safety wire wrapping with the end secured with a ten-turn twist. According to the builder, the use of urethane lines while common among light planes has proven to those in the field to require frequent replacement due to the ultra violet exposure, the effects of aging, and the repetitive movement.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the improper maintenance inspection of the engine fuel lines resulting in loss of engine power due to a loose fuel line and subsequent fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/12/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1705 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Auburn |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 36801 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 323632N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0852627W |
| Event Location Airport | AUBURN-OPELIKA ROBERT G. PITTS |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AUO |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 777 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1655 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AUO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 777 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| 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) | 19941 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 12 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 31 2006 10:47AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO-09 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N97GE |
| NTSB Number | ATL06LA051 |
| 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 | Eakle R Grandin Jr |
| Aircraft Model | Talon XP |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 96XP582GA4 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1200 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Eakle R Grandin Jr |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 131 Grider Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Hamilton |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 31811 |
| 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 | AUO |
| Departure City | AUBURN |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1705 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | AUO |
| Destination City | AUBURN |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 10 2006 3:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |