Amateur-built MORONCA accident near Burgaw, North Carolina, March 5, 2009
On March 5, 2009 at about 5:20 pm local time, a amateur-built MORONCA, registered N404AF, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Burgaw, North Carolina (Stag Air Park airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A partial loss of engine power due to fuel contamination as a result of the pilot's operation of the airplane with a deteriorated fuel tank.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 5, 2009 · about 5:20 pm local time · cases in 2009
- Place
- Burgaw, North Carolina · Stag Air Park · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built MORONCA
- Registration
- N404AF · registry record · serial 005
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness reported hearing an airplane’s engine sputter before hearing the crash. The airplane appeared to have clipped trees on its descent to the field, impacted the ground nose first, and bounced once to its final resting place. A postcrash examination found small particle contaminants in the airplane’s fuel system. The interior of the tank was found to be deteriorating and flaking apart. The amateur-built airplane was issued an experimental airworthiness certificate on April 12, 2008. The fuselage was primarily Aeronca with the wings and landing gear system designed by the owner/pilot. The airplane had accumulated a total of 47.21 hours since the time it was built. Its last inspection, a conditional, took place on November 28, 2008 and the airplane flew seven hours between that inspection and the time of the accident. Six weeks prior to the accident the pilot had reported that the airplane’s engine had cut out. The pilot told his friend he found some debris in the fuel tank and that he would “keep an eye on it.” The cross bar, to which the pilot’s shoulder harness was secured, separated from the airframe at impact.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
- Fuel contamination during enroute (cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Rough terrain › Contributed to outcome
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Fuel system › Fuel storage › Damaged/degraded other cases naming the fuel system
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,658 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 47 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, November 28, 2008; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7NC1 Burgaw NC at 4:30 pm
- Destination: 7NC1 Burgaw NC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.50 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from ILM, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
11 documents, released by the NTSB on July 28, 2010. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N404AF on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Continental A65-8 137 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Stag Air Park Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in North Carolina 1,762 since 1982 · 304 in the last ten years
- North Carolina 7,123 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ERA09LA182.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.