Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tappahannock-Essex County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tappahannock, Virginia 22560
Tuesady, July 15, 2008 15:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness observed the airplane during takeoff. The nose of the airplane was pitched up about 20-to-25 degrees and the airplane climbed to between 800 to 1,000 feet with full power. The climb angle increased to about 60-degrees and the engine was heard to go silent. The airplane was observed to initiate a wing-over maneuver in a nose down attitude, turned 90 degrees to the left, and disappeared from view below the tree line. The witness then heard the sound of the airplane colliding with trees and the ground. The pilot stated the airplane had 30 gallons of 100 low-lead fuel at take off. The fuel tank was ruptured and the smell of fuel was present at the accident site. Examination of the airframe flight controls and engine assembly revealed no anomalies. Metallurgical examination of the fuel servo and induction air filter revealed they did not contribute to the loss of engine power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/15/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1545 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Tappahannock |
| Event State | VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 22560 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 375134N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0765338W |
| Event Location Airport | Tappahannock-Essex County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | XSA |
| 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 | 1629 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | XSA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 135 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24791 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 15 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 22 2009 11:41AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Richmond FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N27ED |
| NTSB Number | MIA08LA142 |
| 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 | J. E. Douglas |
| Aircraft Model | Starduster 2 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 707-727 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1800 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 8 |
| Airframe Hours | 461 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David S. Harvey |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 174 Tampa Place |
| Aircraft Owner City | HEATHSVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 22473 |
| 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 | 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | XSA |
| Departure City | Tappahannock |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1544 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | XSA |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 22 2009 11:42AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |