Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hawkins Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Jackson, Mississippi 39298
Thursday, June 5, 2008 7:07 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll and while traveling at about 50 knots, he heard an "explosion" and could feel a thud in the rudder pedals. He immediately looked up and saw damage on the left wing with black smoke coming out of a hole in the wing. The pilot stopped the airplane, exited and put out the fire with an onboard fire extinguisher. Examination of the airplane found a thermally damaged hose (vent line), which contained a tight hose clamp and crimped end within the clamp. The separated hose was found lying below the siphon break-bent line interconnect. The position of the clamped and crimped end was consistent with the hose being clamped prior to the break-bent line, which would have allowed the partially connected hose to separate from the break-bent line. The separation of the hose from the break-bent line interconnect would have allowed fuel vapor to accumulate within the wing's open cavities. Additionally, the landing light power wire was separated and the exposed end of the wire exhibited melting, and there was evidence of arcing that existed along the base of the structure (lighting hole) and adjacent interior upper wing skin. This arcing was likely the ignition source for the trapped fuel vapor. The outboard leading edge fuel cell was removed during the investigation and checked for leaks. The fuel cell was pressurized and an air leak was found on the aft side of the fuel cap assembly, at the interior fuel placard mounting rivets. The fuel full placard and rivets were found to be loose when moved by hand. The loose mounting rivets would have also been a source of fuel vapor, which would have contributed to the fuel vapors trapped in the wing. The left wing fuel cells were replaced about 13 months prior to the accident and the airplane's most recent 100-hour inspection was performed about 3 months prior to the accident. For 100-hour inspections, the airplane's maintenance manual contained instructions to examine fuel cells, vent lines, and electrical wiring.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An outboard left wing explosion during takeoff due to the improper fuel cell installation and inadequate subsequent inspections by maintenance personnel.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/5/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 707 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Jackson |
| Event State | MISSISSIPPI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 39298 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 322002N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0901312W |
| Event Location Airport | Hawkins Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HKS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 341 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 735 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HKS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 341 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dawn |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| 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) | 25134 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Jackson FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 6 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 1 2009 11:12AM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA Jackson, MS FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3106W |
| NTSB Number | MIA08FA114 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | BE-58 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | TH-408 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5400 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 25 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 64.2 |
| Airframe Hours | 10013.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Jim Hankins Air Service, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO Box 10652 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Jackson |
| Aircraft Owner State | MS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 39289 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Jim Hankins Air Service, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO Box 10652 |
| Operator City | Jackson |
| Operator State | MS |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 39289 |
| Operator Code | EWKA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | HKS |
| Departure City | Jackson |
| Departure State | MS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 707 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PNS |
| Destination City | Pennsicola |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 27 2009 3:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 16 |
| Runway Length | 5387 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |