Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Kezer Air Ranch Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Springtown, Texas 76082
Saturday, September 23, 2006 7:37 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 14,498-hour private pilot experienced a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from the 2,400-foot long, by 20-foot wide airstrip. The pilot elected to make a 180-degree turn back to the airstrip; however, the single-engine homebuilt airplane landed short of the runway. The pilot reported that he conducted a preflight prior to his departure and reported having 8 gallons of fuel aboard the airplane for the local flight to his intended destination. The pilot added that while climbing out on runway heading "the engine quit and he was unable to restart it after switching fuel tanks." At the time of the attempted restart the airplane was about 3/4 of a mile from the departure end of the airport at approximately 400 feet above the ground. The pilot further stated that after determining that there was no suitable forced landing areas ahead of the flight path, he elected to turn back toward the airport. The airplane was unable to reach the departure end of runway 34. During the forced landing, the airplane collided with a pipe fence and came to rest in the upright position approximately 40 feet inside of the airport property. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined. The weather at the airport was reported as 10 miles visibility with winds from 180 degrees at 12 knots. The airplane sustained structural damage.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/23/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 737 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Springtown |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 76082 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 325920N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0973710W |
| Event Location Airport | Kezer Air Ranch Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 61TE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.05 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 870 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 12 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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) | 20736 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 28 2006 9:08AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Fort Worth, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7LC |
| NTSB Number | DFW06CA212 |
| 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 | Vans Aircraft |
| Aircraft Model | RV4 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 87 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Lewis Crosswell |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 415 Little Cat Track Rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Weatherford |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76085 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Springtown |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Crandbury |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 10 2006 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34 |
| Runway Length | 2400 |
| Runway Width | 20 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |