Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Danbury Muncipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
Saturday, October 1, 2011 12:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection, which included checking the fuel quantity and conducting an engine run-up, without any discrepancies noted. The airplane took off without incident; however, at about 1,100 feet mean sea level, when the pilot made a right crosswind turn, the engine lost total power. The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine and subsequently completed a forced landing to a residential area. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The fuel selector was observed positioned to the left fuel tank, which did not contain any fuel. The right fuel tank contained about 8 gallons of fuel. The fuel tanks were intact and there was no evidence of a fuel spill at the accident site.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s improper fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/1/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1245 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ridgefield |
| Event State | CONNECTICUT |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 06877 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 412135N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0733006W |
| Event Location Airport | Danbury Muncipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DXR |
| 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 | 458 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DXR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 458 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.67 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | 011653Z 30007KT 270V330 10SM FEW019 BKN055 BKN100 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30456 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 9 2012 12:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N231EB |
| NTSB Number | ERA12LA001 |
| 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 | MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. |
| Aircraft Model | M20K |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-0190 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 10 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2661 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BALDWIN ROBERT A IV |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | RIDGEFIELD |
| Aircraft Owner State | CT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 06877-2313 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | BALDWIN ROBERT A IV |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | RIDGEFIELD |
| Operator State | CT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 06877-2313 |
| 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 | DXR |
| Departure City | Ridgefield |
| Departure State | CT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1240 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | DXR |
| Destination City | Ridgefield |
| Destination State | CT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 22 2012 4:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |