Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Erie International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Erie, Pennsylvania 16505
Thursday, September 11, 2008 17:08 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated the airplane was topped off with fuel before departing, and he did not have any problems in opening or closing the fuel caps during the preflight inspection. He switched the fuel tanks every 30 minutes while en-route and did not notice any siphoning of fuel. Air traffic control cleared the flight to descend about 30 to 45 miles from the destination airport. The pilot elected to remain on the right main fuel tank since the fuel gauges indicated it had the most amount of fuel. The controller cleared the flight for a visual approach to runway 6 and the engine stopped about one half mile from the airport. The pilot immediately switched the fuel tanks, and attempted an engine restart, which was unsuccessful. He flared the airplane high over the runway. The airplane landed hard, bounced, and landed hard again. Examination of the airplane revealed structural damage to the right wing. A mechanic who examined the airplane stated that a lanyard holding the fuel cap down interfered with the latch and that the cap may not have been seated properly, leading to a fuel leak. Blue fluid staining was present in the vicinity of the right main fuel cap and aft section of the right wing. The right fuel tank was de-fueled and about one quart of fuel was present. The left main fuel tank was de-fueled and about 18 gallons of fuel was present.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper landing flare resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper preflight inspection of the fuel caps and his improper inflight fuel management, which led to a loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/11/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1708 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Erie |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 16505 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 420455N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0801034W |
| Event Location Airport | Erie International Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ERI |
| 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 | 733 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1651 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ERI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 733 |
| 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) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.16 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24529 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 12 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 8:37AM |
| User who most recently changed record | grol |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Allegheny FAA/FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N710ND |
| NTSB Number | MIA08CA192 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | G-36 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | E3751 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3650 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 1 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 83 |
| Airframe Hours | 233 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Trustey Management Corporation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 222 berkley Street FL18 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Boston |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02116 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Joseph F. Trustey |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 3 William Fairfield Drive |
| Operator City | Wenham |
| Operator State | MA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 01984 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BOS |
| Departure City | Boston |
| Departure State | MA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | ERI |
| Destination City | Erie |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - flare/touchdown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 20 2008 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 06 |
| Runway Length | 6500 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |