Piper PA-31-350 incident near Mccomb, Mississippi, October 31, 1996
On October 31, 1996 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N120JD, suffered minor damage in an incident near Mccomb, Mississippi. It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the lineman's fueling of the aircraft with the wrong type fuel, the pilot's failure to verify the type of fuel added to the aircraft before flight, and failure of the refueling facility to be equipped with the proper fuel nozzle.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 31, 1996 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Mccomb, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N120JD · registry record · serial 31-8152179
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot requested that the aircraft be fueled with 40 gallons of 100LL avgas. The lineman fueled the aircraft with 40 gallons of Jet-A fuel. This made the total fuel on board about 80 gallons (about a 50 percent to 50 percent mixture of avgas and Jet-A). The pilot signed the fuel receipt, which indicated Jet-A fuel, and then departed. The lineman did not observe the pilot perform a preflight inspection. Both engines lost power after takeoff, and a forced landing was made in a field. The aircraft was equipped with restricted fuel ports to prevent this type of misfueling; however, the fuel pump (from which N120JD was fueled) was not equipped with the respective large size nozzle that was designed to prevent the problem.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,425 hours in all; 783 in this make and model; 67 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 8,130 as pilot in command; 60 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,101 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 3, 1996; 141 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MCB at 8:15 pm
- Destination: NEW New Orleans LA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:20 pm from MCB, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA97IA016.