Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Cornelia Fort Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Nashville, Tennessee 37217
Thursday, June 8, 2006 12:27 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, the airplane was topped with fuel before a 30-minute local flight on June 4, 2006. On June 8th, the day of the accident, the airplane departed the Cornelia Fort Airpark for Smithville, Tennessee, a distance of 45 nautical miles. After a brief time on the ground in Smithville the airplane departed for the return trip to Cornelia Fort Airpark. The pilot reported that on takeoff he smelled fuel but that the smell dissipated after he leveled off. About 20 minutes into the flight the smell of fuel returned and that the fuel pressure began to drop. The pilot switched to the left tank and the fuel smell subsided and the fuel pressure stabilized. As the airplane neared the destination airport the fuel pressure began to drop again. The engine lost power while the airplane was on a downwind leg for runway 04. The pilot switched fuel tanks again but was unable to get the engine restarted. The pilot made an off-airport landing in dense brush and small trees short of the runway. Examination of the engine found the outlet fuel line from the engine-driven fuel pump to the carburetor disconnected at the fuel pump fitting. Fresh insect debris was found in the line and evidence indicated it entered the line after the accident and prior to examination. The debris was cleared from the line and the line was reconnected. The engine was primed and started. The engine started immediately and was run at 1,200 RPM for a few minutes before being shut down. The engine had been modified to deliver 160 HP and at that time had the fuel flow transducer installed in the fuel line between the fuel pump and carburetor. The aircraft had flown 49.5 hours since the modification which was done during the last annual inspection on September 5, 2005.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Improper installation of the fuel line by maintenance personnel which resulted in the fuel line disconnecting and a loss of engine power during approach.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/8/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1227 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Nashville |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 37217 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 361125N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0864159W |
| Event Location Airport | Cornelia Fort Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | M88 |
| 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 | 418 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BNA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 599 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 16 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.98 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21417 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 8 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 29 2007 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Nashville FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3454K |
| NTSB Number | ATL06LA090 |
| 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-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-23562 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2450 |
| 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 | Sep 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 49.9 |
| Airframe Hours | 2262.9 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Arthur Howard Quinn |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 118 38th Ave N |
| Aircraft Owner City | Nashville |
| Aircraft Owner State | TN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 37209 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Arthur Quinn |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 118 38th Ave. N. |
| Operator City | Nashville |
| Operator State | TN |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 37209 |
| 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 | 0A3 |
| Departure City | Smithville |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1140 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | M88 |
| Destination City | Nashville |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 3 2007 9:32AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 04 |
| Runway Length | 3500 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |