- Date
- July 6, 1989, 15:05 local (19:05 UTC)
- Place
- Hilliard, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9473NPiper PA-28R-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890706052469A
- Case key
- 32452
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The inadequate pre-flight examination by the pilot, after refueling, which failed to detect water in the fuel.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The engine lost power during the initial climb after takeoff. A forced landing was made in trees at the end of the runway. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed about 3 oz of water in the right fuel tank. The engine was operated during testing after the accident. The pilot said he normally parked the airplane in an open t hangar with fuel tanks partially filled. Additionally there were heavy thunderstorms in the area since the airplane was last flown, three weeks before the accident. The fuel sumps were drained, 19.9 gal. Of fuel added, but not redrained following the fueling.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9473N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-35190
- Airframe hours
- 3,137
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Chalker W. Brown
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 6, 1989 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- O1J
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,207 total · 1,322 in this make and model · 1,750 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JAX, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.