Seymour Air Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sevierville, Tennessee 37865
Saturday, August 30, 2008 16:20 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During takeoff, at about 100 feet in the air, near the end of the runway, the pilot heard a loud bang and immediately felt an increasing vibration. He reduced engine power and maneuvered to return to the runway. As he lined up for the runway, the engine was producing power but he felt no thrust. The airplane lost altitude and the pilot landed in a rough pasture short of the runway. The landing gear separated and the left wing buckled before coming to a stop. Post-accident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed the brass tip separated from the wooden propeller and the blades separated to the hub section. The missing pieces of propeller were not located.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the wooden propeller.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/30/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1620
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Sevierville
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37865
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354842N
Event Location Longitude 0834628W
Event Location Airport Seymour Air Park
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TN20
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 1000
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KTYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 981
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
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) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
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) 24503
NTSB Notification Source SROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2008 2:11PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80660
NTSB Number MIA08CA178
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name DEHAVILLAND
Aircraft Model DH82A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 82473
Certified Max Gross Weight 1726
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
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 Apr 25 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 24
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GRUBBS FRANK D
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City KNOXVILLE
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37920-4341
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name GRUBBS FRANK D
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City KNOXVILLE
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 37920-4341
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 TN20
Departure City Sevierville
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code TN98
Destination City Knoxville
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2008 2:11PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --