Ormond Beach Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ormond Beach, Florida 32174
Sunday, July 10, 2011 11:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a 1.2-hour instructional flight, with the student pilot at the controls, the airplane lost engine power after takeoff. The airplane was climbing through 200 feet above ground level when the loss of power occurred, and the flight instructor maneuvered the airplane to a forced landing before it impacted trees beyond the departure end of the runway. Examination of the engine and airplane at the accident site did not reveal any preexisting mechanical anomalies that may have caused the loss of engine power. The flight instructor stated that each wing tank contained about 12 gallons of fuel before the flight. According to performance charts in the airplane's operating handbook, at best economy mixture settings, the engine would burn about 8.5 gallons per hour, which would result in about 1.4 hours of flight time for 12 gallons of fuel. The preflight ground checks of 0.2 hours and flight time of 1.2 hours would equate to about 12 gallons of fuel burn for the accident flight. Both the flight instructor and student pilot stated that the fuel selector was in the right tank position throughout the flight and was not switched to the left tank, even though the left tank had about 12 gallons of fuel. This resulted in fuel starvation to the engine when the right tank was depleted of fuel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from the flight instructor's inadequate in-flight fuel management.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/10/2011
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1115
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Ormond Beach
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32174
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 291801N
Event Location Longitude 0810629W
Event Location Airport Ormond Beach Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OMN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 29
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1050 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID OMN
Elevation of weather observation facility 29
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 12000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 25
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31222
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 Apr 23 2013 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9202C
NTSB Number ERA11LA393
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 PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2841002
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Euro American School of Aviation Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address 770 Airport Road Suite 7
Aircraft Owner City Ormond Beach
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32174-8784
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Euro American School of Aviation Inc
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 770 Airport Road Suite 7
Operator City Ormond Beach
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 32174-8784
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OMN
Departure City Ormond Beach
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code OMN
Destination City Ormond Beach
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2013 4:36PM
User who most recently changed record reej
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --