ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 231552
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 18 December 2019 |
| Time: | 18:43 LT |
| Type: |  Champion 7ECA Citabria |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N9566S |
| MSN: | 377 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2134 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Oktibbeha County, Starkville, MS -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Vicksburg Airport, MS (VKS/KVKS) |
| Columbus-Golden Triangle Regional Airport, MS (GTR/KGTR) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight when, after 4.5 hrs of flight and about 15 miles short of the destination, the engine lost all power. He stated that the right fuel tank quantity gauge "slammed" to empty as he maneuvered for landing following the loss of engine power and the left tank gauge was between 1/8-tank and empty. The airplane impacted trees during the forced landing and both wings separated from the fuselage. No evidence of fuel was found at the accident site; however, the wreckage was disposed of before any additional examinations could be conducted.
The pilot stated that the airplane's fuel tanks were filled to capacity before departure, and that his preflight fuel planning indicated that he would reach the destination airport with about 1 hour of fuel remaining. During the flight, he made an unplanned stop at an intermediate airport after about 3 hours but opted not to add fuel based on his preflight planning and the fuel gauges, which indicated that the tanks were half full. The fuel planning figures provided by the pilot postaccident were consistent with the fuel planning data contained in the pilot's operating handbook for a more powerful engine. The combined or individual effects of headwind, inflight engine power settings, and the pilot's fuel mixture leaning practices on the actual fuel consumption of the accident flight could not be determined, thus it is not known why the airplane consumed significantly more fuel during the flight than the pilot planned, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. It is possible that the accident may have been prevented if the pilot had verified the amount of fuel onboard or added additional fuel during the intermediate stop.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision not to visually confirm the remaining fuel onboard during the intermediate stop.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN20LA036
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=9566S
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Dec-2019 01:52 | Geno | Added |
| 19-Dec-2019 08:32 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Destination airport, Source] |
| 19-Dec-2019 22:23 | Captain Adam | Updated [Nature, Damage, Narrative] |
| 08-Jul-2022 11:49 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation