Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Phenix City, Alabama 36801
Tuesady, February 20, 2007 15:07 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane collided with terrain while attempting a forced landing to a road, following a loss of power to both engines during the initial climb after takeoff. The airplane had come to rest on an embankment with the left main landing gear extended and intact, resting on the right wing tip. Both engines had separated from the wings with the right engine lying in front of the right wing and the left engine lying under the left wing. During recovery operations, the airplane was placed on a trailer in a level attitude, 7 gallons of fuel was drained from each inboard fuel tank, and no fuel was drained from the outboard fuel tanks. A total of 14 gallons of fuel was drained from the airplane. Both engines were examined, and at the conclusion of their examinations, no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction was found. Review of fueling records revealed that at the beginning of the accident flight, the airplane had approximatley 11 gallons of fuel in each inboard fuel tank, for a total of 22 gallons. The unusable fuel was 3 gallons for each inboard fuel tank. The pilot had intended to fly to an airport located approximately 30 miles south, and each engine consumed approximately 24 gallons-per-hour. The airplane flight manual was reviewed for low fuel procedures/limitations, and the following was found. The shape of the wing fuel tanks is such that in certain maneuvers the fuel may move away from the tank outlet. If the outlet is uncovered, the fuel flow will be interrupted and a temporary loss of power may result. Normal and running turning takeoffs are not to be made when the inboard tanks are less the one-quarter full as fuel flow interruption may occur. Prior to the accident, low fuel procedures were listed in the advisory section near the end of the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH). After the accident, the manufacturer moved the procedures to the Normal Procedures section of the POH.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, and his misunderstanding of how the fuel system operates. Contributing to the accident was the manufacturers insufficiently defined procedures for low fuel operations, which resulted in a forced landing and in-flight collision with terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/20/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1507 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Phenix City |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 36801 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 322510N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0851432W |
| 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 | 1515 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AUO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 777 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 70 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 17 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| 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) | 23434 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 20 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 30 2008 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N41077 |
| NTSB Number | ATL07LA044 |
| 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-31-350 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 31-8352012 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7000 |
| 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 | 8 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 12.7 |
| Airframe Hours | 6836.8 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Great News Transportation, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 902 Brickyard Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Phenix City |
| Aircraft Owner State | AL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 36869 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CSG |
| Departure City | Columbus |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1450 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | EUF |
| Destination City | Eufaula |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 10 2008 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |