Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Covington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Porterdale, Georgia 30070
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 14:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that during preflight inspection of his Cessna 205, on the day prior to the accident, he had noticed that the seals on the fuel caps were worn. He replaced them with fuel caps borrowed from a friend’s airplane, a Cessna 182. Following the preflight, he departed for a local airport for fuel and then returned. Upon his return he had noticed "gas streaking on top of the wings," but assumed that the fuel vents had discharged some fuel. On the day of the accident he checked the weather and departed with a passenger for a cross-country flight. While en route, the engine "coughed;" he turned on the fuel boost pump and switched the fuel selector from the right to the left tank, after which the engine restarted. The pilot noted that the fuel gauges were fluctuating in-flight between empty and one-quarter tank. Believing that he had sufficient fuel on board, he made a descent and continued towards his destination. Minutes later the engine quit, the pilot switched the fuel selector from the left tank to the right tank, and made a turn for a local airport. Realizing that he would not make it to the airport, the pilot elected to land in a field. The airplane touched down on rough terrain and the nose strut sheared off. The airplane then dug into the ground and flipped over. The propeller, landing gear, wings, fuselage, and empennage incurred damage. The pilot stated that he had replaced the seals in the borrowed caps in order to prevent water from leaking into the fuel, but that the new seals did not fit as tightly and that fuel must have been "sucked" out of the tanks.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's use of improper fuel caps. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s selection of an unsuitable area for landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/24/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1445 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Porterdale |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30070 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 333404N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0835222W |
| Event Location Airport | Covington Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 9A1 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 23 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 809 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1452 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 280 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ATL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1026 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 29 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| 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) | 25720 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 18 2009 12:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8272Z |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA366 |
| 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 | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 210-5(205) |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 205-0272 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3300 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 30 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3935 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ABBOTT JAY DANIEL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 486 |
| Aircraft Owner City | ROCKY MOUNT |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 24151-0486 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | ABBOTT JAY DANIEL |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 486 |
| Operator City | ROCKY MOUNT |
| Operator State | VA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 24151-0486 |
| 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 | VG58 |
| Departure City | Rocky Mount |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FFC |
| Destination City | Peachtree City |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 18 2009 12:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| 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 | -- |