Strickland Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fair Bluff, North Carolina 28439
Sunday, December 9, 2007 16:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he owned the airplane for quite some time, and that it had been "sitting" on the field since 2004. He said that he stopped taking flying lessons, and decided to sell the airplane. He said on the day of the accident, he "washed the airplane" and "sumped the fuel tanks." While sumping the tanks, he noted that about a ½ cup of water drained from the left and right fuel tanks. He decided to start the airplane and take it up for 1-touch and go. During his initial climb out the engine began to lose power. Shortly thereafter, he "pushed the throttle forward, and the engine revved up and then stopped." At that point, he made a left turn towards the field and landed in heavy brush. He said that as he exited the airplane it "caught on fire" and he was unable to extinguish it. During the telephone interview with the pilot he said that "he did not get all of the water out of tanks."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection which failed to detect contaminated fuel, and subsequent loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/9/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Fair Bluff
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28439
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 341535N
Event Location Longitude 0790115W
Event Location Airport Strickland Field Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 89NC
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 98
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1700 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID CPC
Elevation of weather observation facility 99
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
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) 23208
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROC
NTSB Notification Date Dec 9 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Greensboro FSDO-05

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3699S
NTSB Number MIA08CA028
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17250899
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Mar 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 181
Airframe Hours 5647
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William H. Strickland
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6160 Hinson Crossroad
Aircraft Owner City Fair Bluff
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28439
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 No
Departure Airport Code 89NC
Departure City Fair Bluff
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1625
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2008 2:02PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 5
Runway Length 2642
Runway Width 118
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --