Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Moraine Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
West Carrollton, Ohio 45439
Tuesady, June 17, 2008 10:36 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Shortly after takeoff, the airplane entered a descending left turn. The airplane contacted a utility pole, a light pole, and a tree prior to coming to rest. A witness stated the airplane sounded fine on takeoff, but the engine began to lose power shortly thereafter. Post accident inspection of the airplane and engine revealed the number four cylinder sustained impact damage in the area of the top spark plug. The top spark plug on this cylinder was found separated from the engine. The top spark plugs on the remaining cylinders were loose. The accident occurred on the first flight following an annual inspection. The mechanic who signed off the inspection stated he checked the torque on the spark plugs after they were installed. The airplane was topped off with fuel prior to the flight. The pilot's logbook did not show any entries indicating that he had ever flown a Lark 95 prior to the accident flight and the passenger stated this was the pilot's first flight in the airplane.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The improper installation of spark plugs during the annual inspection which resulted in a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/17/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1036 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | West Carrollton |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 45439 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 394100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0841500W |
| Event Location Airport | Moraine Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | I73 |
| 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 | 1056 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 5 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DAY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1009 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4300 |
| 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) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24767 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 17 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 22 2008 5:14PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Cincinnati, OH FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N86657 |
| NTSB Number | CHI08LA166 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | HELTON |
| Aircraft Model | LARK 95 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 9506 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1475 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 14 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1206 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AMERICAN SPORTPLANES LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 53 WESTBOURNE TER |
| Aircraft Owner City | BROOKLINE |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02446-2210 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Leonard E. Notek |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Castle Rock |
| Operator State | CO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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) | Ferry |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | I73 |
| Departure City | Moraine |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1036 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Reno |
| Destination State | NV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 16 2008 9:16AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 26 |
| Runway Length | 3500 |
| Runway Width | 65 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |