Propwash Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Justin, Texas 76247
Thursday, August 19, 2010 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed with full fuel tanks on a long cross-country flight. As the pilot approached his destination airport, he initiated a rapid descent by reducing the throttle to idle and lowering the nose of the airplane. At some point, the engine stopped producing power, but the pilot didn't realize this until he was on approach to the airport because the propeller was windmilling and he was wearing a noise-cancelling headset. The pilot was unable to restart the engine or maintain altitude. As the airplane glided toward the airport, the pilot realized that the gear warning horn had not activated when he pulled the throttle to idle and had to quickly extend the landing gear manually. The pilot was unable to fully extend the gear and landed short of the runway in a pasture. The nosewheel struck a hole and separated from the airframe and the left main gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. The airplane came to rest upright with the left wing tip on the ground. The propeller, left wing tip, and the leading edge of the left wing were also damaged; however, the four wing fuel tanks were not breached. The right outboard fuel tank was found empty, the right inboard fuel tank was 3/4 full, the left inboard tank was full, and the left outboard tank was 3/4 full. The fuel selector was found set to the right outboard tank position. The pilot stated that the fuel selector was set to the left inboard tank (which he estimated had 15 minutes of fuel remaining) when the engine quit and he had switched to a full tank to try and restart the engine. He said that even though the outboard fuel tanks looked empty after the accident he still had about 1.5 hours of fuel remaining and that he did not run any of the tanks out of fuel. A postaccident examination of the fuel system, ignition, and throttle assemblies revealed no mechanical deficiencies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's improper fuel management.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/19/2010
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Justin
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76247
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 330430N
Event Location Longitude 0972119W
Event Location Airport Propwash
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 16X
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 160
Weather Observation Facility ID AFW
Elevation of weather observation facility 722
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 37
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.85
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) 27950
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 Jul 15 2011 2:00PM
User who most recently changed record bakd
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N189M
NTSB Number CEN10LA489
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 MEYERS INDUSTRIES INC
Aircraft Model 200C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 283
Certified Max Gross Weight 3500
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 Aug 1 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 1854
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SAMSON AIR INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3630 OXFORD DR
Aircraft Owner City TRAVERSE CITY
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49686-8254
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SAMSON AIR INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 3630 OXFORD DR
Operator City TRAVERSE CITY
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 49686-8254
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 FTG
Departure City Denver
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 16X
Destination City Justin
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 23 2011 1:09PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
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 --