Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Levelland Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Levelland, Texas 79336
Saturday, July 14, 2007 13:18 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 287-hour private pilot reported that the homebuilt airplane experienced a loss of engine power during initial takeoff climb. The airplane impacted the ground while the pilot attempted to return to the airport. The airplane impacted the ground in a nose low attitude and came to rest in the upright position in an open field within 50 yards of the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who responded to the accident site, was able to interview the pilot at the scene of the accident. The pilot reported that the airport perimeter fence limited the possibility of proceeding straight ahead for a forced landing. The pilot added that a turn was needed to maneuver the airplane to a suitable landing area. The inspector documented structural damage to all portions of the airplane forward of the cockpit, confirmed the availability of full fuel on board, and did not note any obvious discrepancies. In a telephone interview with the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge (IIC), the pilot stated that during the emergency turn back to the airport, he allowed the airplane to slow below minimum flying speed, and due to close proximity to the ground, was not able to successfully recover the aircraft prior to impacting the terrain. The pilot, who was also the builder of the airplane, was not able to determine the reason for the engine's occasional loss of power. The pilot, who was also a mechanic, performed an inspection on the engine and could find a reason for the loss of engine power. The pilot added that he thought the engine malfunction was the result of a carburetor related problem. The airframe and engine had accumulated a total of 175 hours.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/14/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1318 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Levelland |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79336 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335523N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1022310W |
| Event Location Airport | LEVELLAND MUNI |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LLN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 3514 |
| 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) | 80 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KLBB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.12 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 22230 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 14 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 31 2007 7:09AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lubbock, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4589 |
| NTSB Number | DFW07CA161 |
| 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 | Rodgers |
| Aircraft Model | Zodiac 601XL |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 65607 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1300 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 175 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bobby Rodgers |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 423 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Smyer |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 79367 |
| 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 | Smyer |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 79367 |
| 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 | LLN |
| Departure City | LEVELLAND |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1315 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Levelland |
| 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 | Aug 28 2007 1:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 35 |
| Runway Length | 6110 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |