Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Albany International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Clifton Park, New York 12065
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 7:27 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and passenger were departing on an instrument flight rules business flight. During the initial climb, at an altitude of about 800 feet above the ground, the pilot advised air traffic control that the airplane had lost engine power. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing; however, the airplane struck several trees about 1,000 feet short of an open field. Examination of the airframe revealed no deficiencies of the fuel or fuel system, and a test run of the engine showed that it was capable of producing power. However, during the test run, the right magneto was found to be non-functional, and further disassembly of the component revealed that its contact points were corroded. Once the corrosion was cleaned away, the magneto functioned normally on a test bench.
The investigation was unable to determine a definitive cause for the reported total loss of engine power, although a non-functional right magneto could result in a partial loss of power and/or perceived rough engine operation. According to the airframe manufacturer’s procedure for a loss of engine power immediately after liftoff, the auxiliary fuel pump should only be placed in the “HI” position in the event of an engine-driven fuel pump failure. With the engine-driven fuel pump operating, the engine would “run rich and may quit depending on throttle setting, temperature and altitude.” Due to the extent of the damage surrounding the auxiliary fuel pump switch, its preimpact position could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during the postaccident investigation and testing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/15/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 727 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Clifton Park |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 12065 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 424806N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0734735W |
| Event Location Airport | Albany International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ALB |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 285 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 753 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 208 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ALB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 285 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 130 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1 |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| 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) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | SPECI KALB 151153Z 00000KT 10SM BCFG FEW001 SCT006 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31633 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern Region ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 21 2013 10:29AM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N678DR |
| NTSB Number | ERA12FA508 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | A36TC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | EA-216 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3650 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 15 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 173 |
| Airframe Hours | 3191 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | N800G LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19808 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | N800G LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WILMINGTON |
| Operator State | DE |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 19808 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ALB |
| Departure City | ALBANY |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 724 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PBG |
| Destination City | Plattsburgh |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2013 7:57AM |
| User who most recently changed record | rows |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 01 |
| Runway Length | 8500 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |