Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Columbus Metropolitan Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Columbus, Georgia 31909
Sunday, July 19, 2009 18:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings during the accident flight. He had departed from the runway, entered a left hand traffic pattern, and was cleared by air traffic control "for the option" which would allow the pilot to either land or execute a low approach. After descending from traffic pattern altitude, the airplane landed and took off again. The airplane was then observed flying in a level attitude, over the runway at approximately 30 feet above ground level, and witnesses heard the engine pop, sputter, and then hesitate. The pilot reported to air traffic control that he was experiencing problems, and during the pilot's transmission, a sound similar to the engine losing power was audible. The airplane then veered off the right side of the runway and struck the side of a hangar with its right wing, separating it from the airplane. The airplane began a roll to the right, skipped off the top of a shed, and continued to roll until inverted. It then impacted an unoccupied tractor and broke apart. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that all three fuel tanks were breached. A witness observed fuel on the ground after the accident, but it evaporated within minutes. The interior and exterior of the fuselage fuel tank, located just forward of the engine, exhibited evidence of fuel staining. The main fuel tanks however, did not reveal any evidence of fuel staining and both the fuel strainer and carburetor float bowl were devoid of fuel. The fuel in the fuselage tank was usable for all attitudes. The fuel in the main tanks however was only usable for level flight. The airplane owner's manual advised that during long descents with 1 to 2 gallons of fuel in the main fuel tanks starvation could occur. Therefore, the fuselage tank should be selected for all descents and landings. Examination of the fuel valve revealed that it was selected to the main tanks.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilots improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/19/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1815 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Columbus |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 31909 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 323059N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0845620W |
| Event Location Airport | Columbus Metropolitan Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CSG |
| 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 | 397 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1751 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CSG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 397 |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28797 |
| 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 | Sep 29 2011 10:01AM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N39DX |
| NTSB Number | ERA09LA412 |
| 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 | James O'Bert |
| Aircraft Model | Vari-Eze |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 311 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1050 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 2 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 33.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 3304 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Gerald M. Edmonds |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Columbus |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 31909 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Gerald M. Edmonds |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Columbus |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 31909 |
| 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 | CSG |
| Departure City | Columbus |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1814 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | CSG |
| Destination City | Columbus |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 19 2011 3:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 31 |
| Runway Length | 3997 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |