- Date
- October 21, 2003, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Brookville, OH
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N29GLLoranger Emeraude CP301A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20031021034599A
- Case key
- 58215
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 pilot's improper decision to operate an airplane with insufficient fuel for the flight, his improper decision to return to the airport with inadequate altitude remaining, and his failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor related to the accident was the inaccuracy of the fuel gauge.
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 pilot was delivering the airplane because it had been sold to another individual. Witnesses observed the airplane depart, and as the airplane climbed to 300 feet, the engine suddenly quit. The airplane then made a left hand turn, and descended rapidly out view. The airplane came to rest in a field upright, about 1/4-mile from the airport. Examination of the wreckage after the accident revealed that the fuel gauge needle in the cockpit was observed stuck between the 1/4-1/2 position. About one teaspoon of fuel was observed in the carburetor bowl, and no fuel was observed in either the fuel tank or fuel lines. Examination of the engine and its maintenance logs did not reveal any abnormalities. The last fueling record obtained from the fixed based operator at I62 for the accident airplane was dated on July 30, 2003, when the airplane was fueled with 15 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline. An approximate 500-foot-long cornfield was located at the departure end of runway 27.
Factual narrative
On October 21, 2003, at 0930 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Emeraude CP301A, N29GL, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain, following a total loss of power during climbout from the Brookville Airport (I62), Brookville, Ohio. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight destined for a private airstrip in Greenville, Ohio. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was delivering the airplane to Greenville because it was sold to another individual. Witnesses observed the airplane depart from runway 27. As the airplane climbed to 300 feet, the engine suddenly quit, and the airplane made a left hand turn. During the turn, the airplane descended rapidly out of the witnesses view.
The airplane came to rest in a field upright, about 1/4-mile from the airport.
The FAA inspector examined the wreckage after the accident. He observed substantial damage to both wings, and the forward fuselage. The inspector did not observe any anomalies with the flight or engine controls. The fuel gauge needle in the cockpit was observed stuck between the 1/4-1/2 position. The fuel tank was ruptured, and no fuel stains were observed on the fuselage skin. About one teaspoon of fuel was observed in the carburetor bowl, and no fuel was observed in either the fuel tank or fuel lines.
Examination of the engine and its maintenance logs did not reveal any abnormalities.
The inspector noted that there was an absence of fuel odor at the accident site, and no discoloration of foliage was observed.
The inspector also stated that an approximate 500-foot-long cornfield was located at the departure end of runway 27.
The last fueling record obtained from the fixed based operator at I62 for the accident airplane was dated on July 30, 2003, when the airplane was fueled with 15 gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline.
Under the direction of The Montgomery County Coroner's Office, Dayton, Ohio, an autopsy on the pilot was performed on October 21, 2003.
The FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma conducted toxicological testing on the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29GL
- Reported as
- Loranger Emeraude CP301A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1132
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Guy Lehman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- I62 · Brookville, OH
- Destination
- 16OI · Greenville, OH
- Airport
- I62 · Brookville Airport, runway 27, 2,500 × 30 ft, asphalt
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
- 40
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 9, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 6,100 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 10 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.