Stafford Municpal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stafford, Kansas 67578
Sunday, November 16, 2008 16:53 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot and his passenger had just departed in a single-engine airplane when the engine stopped producing power. The pilot attempted to switch the fuel selector to the fuller fuel tank, while making a left hand turn back towards the airport. He was unable to maintain altitude and landed hard in a cornfield resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and left wing spar. Examination of the airplane revealed that both fuel tanks were intact and filled with some fuel; however, the fuel was not drained to determine if there was any contamination or to verify how much fuel was in each tank. Engine continuity was established by manual rotation of the propeller, and no obvious mechanical deficiencies were noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/16/2008
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1653
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Stafford
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67578
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 375718N
Event Location Longitude 0983901W
Event Location Airport Stafford Municpal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3TA
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24819
NTSB Notification Source SWR ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2009 12:59PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6744W
NTSB Number CEN09CA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-20867
Certified Max Gross Weight 1950
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ASTLE CHARLES W
Aircraft Owner Street Address 875 SE 10TH ST
Aircraft Owner City STAFFORD
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 67578-9336
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ASTLE CHARLES W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 875 SE 10TH ST
Operator City STAFFORD
Operator State KS
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 67578-9336
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 3TA
Departure City Stafford
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1553
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 3TA
Destination City Stafford
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 16 2009 3:21PM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 2560
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --