David Lowe Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sacramento, Kentucky 42372
Saturday, November 10, 2007 16:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, which included "sumping" the fuel tanks, and no contamination was observed in the fuel samples. The airplane had recently been fueled to the "tabs," and approximately 17 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline was in both fuel tanks during the accident takeoff. No discrepancies were noted during engine start, taxi, and run-up. During the initial climb, the engine lost all power about 60 feet above ground level, and the pilot performed a forced landing into a soybean field. According to his written statement, the pilot reported that the fuel selector was positioned to the right main fuel tank during the accident takeoff, and he moved it to the off position after the accident. After the accident, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector observed the fuel selector in the off position, and it was moved to the right fuel tank position. The engine then started and ran continuously up to 2,300 rpm. When the FAA inspector interviewed the pilot, the pilot stated that he was "pretty sure" and that he "thought so" when asked twice about having the fuel selector positioned to the right fuel tank during the accident takeoff.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power during initial climb for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/10/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Sacramento
Event State KENTUCKY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 42372
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372346N
Event Location Longitude 0871408W
Event Location Airport David Lowe Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 80KY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 465
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID OWB
Elevation of weather observation facility 407
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
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) 23661
NTSB Notification Source SROC
NTSB Notification Date Nov 11 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 28 2008 12:03PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Louisville, KY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41535
NTSB Number NYC08LA034
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-28-151
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7413256
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
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 Nov 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 2432
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dwayne R Robinson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Philpot
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 42366
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 80KW
Departure City Sacramento
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OWB
Destination City Owensboro
Destination State KY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 20 2008 4:55PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 1700
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --