Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
St. Tammany Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Covington, Louisiana 70471
Tuesady, May 2, 2006 9:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 2,000-hour private pilot of the single-engine airplane experienced a total loss of engine power during the initial climb. The pilot reported that about 400 feet above the ground (AGL), the engine "abruptly quit," and he attempted a left turn to attempt to return to the field; however, he impacted trees and then the ground before reaching the runway. The pilot also reported that he had topped-off the fuel tanks with 34 gallons of 100LL fuel at the airport 4 days earlier. An examination of the wreckage revealed that the carburetor bowl was half filled with what appeared to be rusty water. The gascolator was removed and examined. It did not contain any fluid; however, the inside of the bowl contained a large amount of corrosion. The wing fuel bladders tanks were empty, and no folds or obstructions were noted. The left fuel tank was breached, and no fuel cap was present. The vented right fuel cap was in good condition, with a pliable rubber gasket. No other evidence of preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction was observed. The airport fuel provider reported to the FAA that fuel samples were tested on the day of the accident and found to be within specification with no contaminants.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The total loss of engine power due to water contamination in the fuel system for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/2/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 900 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Covington |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 70471 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 302642N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0895920W |
| Event Location Airport | St. Tammany Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | L31 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 39 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 853 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 130 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ASD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 39 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 16 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1600 |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| 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) | 20332 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Inspector Richard Gordon |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 2 2006 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 | Baton Rouge |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N42336 |
| NTSB Number | DFW06CA117 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 182L |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18258972 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| 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 | Oct 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 17.7 |
| Airframe Hours | 4604 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Raymond Sainthill |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 552 E. Bay Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Long Beach |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 11561 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Raymond Sainthill |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 550 East Bay Drive |
| Operator City | Long Beach |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 11561 |
| 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 | L31 |
| Departure City | Covington |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 857 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 4A7 |
| Destination City | Hampton |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2006 2:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 2999 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |