Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dawsonville, Georgia 30534
Sunday, February 13, 2011 11:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
After about 25 minutes of flight, the pilot began transferring fuel from the left and right main fuel tanks to the 10-gallon header tank which fed the engine. Ten minutes after completing that operation, the engine began to lose power. The pilot activated the fuel boost pumps and adjusted the throttle and mixture controls. He stated that the engine surged as though it was running out of fuel. When engine power could not be restored, the pilot performed a forced landing to the median of a divided highway, and a hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the left wing tip, rudder, and propeller. A postacciddent examination of the fuel filter revealed traces of sediment and water, while the gascolator bowl contained water and debris. The filter and bowl were then reinstalled and an engine run was completed using the airplane’s own battery and fuel system. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and failure to detect water-contaminated fuel, which resulted in a loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/13/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1100 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Dawsonville |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30534 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 342107N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0840229W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | 1053 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 47A |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1219 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| 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) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.3 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29142 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Atlanta FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 23 2011 6:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N351E |
| NTSB Number | ERA11LA142 |
| 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 | KENNEDY MICHAEL M |
| Aircraft Model | LANCAIR 320 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | MK01 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1685 |
| 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 | Feb 1 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 42 |
| Airframe Hours | 479 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | REISTER WILLIAM L |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | DUNWOODY |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30338-5509 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | REISTER WILLIAM L |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | DUNWOODY |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30338-5509 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LZU |
| Departure City | Lawrenceville |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1050 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | WDR |
| Destination City | Winder |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 25 2011 10:49AM |
| 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 | -- |