Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tupelo Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tupelo, Mississippi 38801
Saturday, July 20, 2013 13:09 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While the airplane was on final approach to the destination airport about 600 feet above ground level, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot subsequently made a forced landing, and the airplane impacted the ground, became airborne, crossed a road, and then came to rest short of the intended runway. First responders reported that they found the fuel selector valve positioned to the left tank and that they observed fuel leaking from the left wing; however, an exact amount of fuel could not be ascertained. The recovery company reported that the right wing fuel tank contained 17 gallons of fuel and that the left wing fuel tank contained less than 1 gallon of fuel. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although blue streaking was observed on the aft portion of the left wing, it could not be determined if the blue streaks were due to fuel leaking during the flight or the accident sequence or before the day of the accident. Examination of the engine revealed carbon deposits on all of the cylinders’ piston faces, which is consistent with operating the engine at too lean of a fuel mixture. Following a normal engine test run, minimal carbon deposits were noted. Although some fuel was in the left wing tank at the time of the accident, it was likely less than the usable amount required, as indicated by the lean fuel mixture at the engine; thus, it is likely that the total loss of engine power was due to fuel starvation.
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 | 7/20/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1309 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Tupelo |
| Event State | MISSISSIPPI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 38801 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 341637N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0884612W |
| Event Location Airport | Tupelo Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TUP |
| 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 | 346 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1308 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TUP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 346 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4400 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| 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) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32808 |
| 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 | Mar 12 2014 9:31AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N117HB |
| NTSB Number | ERA13LA331 |
| 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 | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | A36 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | E-1316 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3650 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 26 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 24 |
| Airframe Hours | 2671 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NEWMAN FRED JR |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | COLUMBUS |
| Aircraft Owner State | MS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 39705-8374 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | NEWMAN FRED JR |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | COLUMBUS |
| Operator State | MS |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 39705-8374 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| 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 | BHM |
| Departure City | Birmingham |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | TUP |
| Destination City | Tupelo |
| Destination State | MS |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 12 2014 9:31AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 6502 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |