# Accident 19961226040299A: Mooney M20F, Daytona Beach, FL, December 26, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 26, 1996, 12:49 local time
- Place: Daytona Beach, FL
- Airport: Daytona Beach Regional
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.1892° N, 81.0507° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.1892&lon=-81.0507&mi=10
- Aircraft: N737JC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N737JC-1998-09-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20F (registry code 5870214, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20F
- Reported engine: LYC IO360A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,780 total, 24 in this make and model, 24 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL97LA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA028) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961226040299A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LOW ON FUEL SHORT DESTINATION. RAN OUT ON TRY FOR DAB. MISJUDGED FUEL BURN FOR DISTANCE COVERED. TWO MILES SHORT. (-23) ON 12/26/96, ACFR DEPARTED ELIZABETH CITY, NC WITH FULL FUEL ENROUTE TO MELBOURNE, FL. THE PILOT DIVERTED TO DAYTONA BEACH, FL (DAB) AFTER REPORTING HE WAS LOW ON FUEL.  WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A WOODED AREA ABOUT 2 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT.  THE PILOT AND A PAX WERE NOT INJURED, WHILE THE ACFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE.  THE ELAPSED FLIGHT TIME SINCE TAKEOFF WAS 4 HOURS AND 26 MINUTES.  EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE EMPTY.  NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL LEAKAGE WAS FOUND.  AFTER THE ACFT WAS RECOVERED FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE AND MOVED TO AN FBO AT DAB, AN ATTEMPT WA S MADE TO RUN THE ENGINE AFTER FUEL WAS ADDED TO ONE OF THE TANKS.  THE ENGINE STARTED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND DEVELOPED POWER.  ACCORDING TO THE ACFT OWNERS MANUAL, THE ACFT SHOULD HAVE HAD A FLIGHT ENDURANCE OF APPROX 6 HOURS, AT THE RPM/POWER SETTING REPORTEDLY USED BY THE PILOT.  INSPECTION OF THE ACFT FOR EVIDENCE OF ANY MECHANICAL DISCREPANCIES DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVID                                    ENCE OF ANY MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE THAT MIGHT HAVE LED TO A HIGHER THAN NORMAL FUEL CONSUMPTION RATE NOT BE DETECTABLE BY MONITORING THE FUEL FLOW GAUGE. THE INVESTIGATION DID REVEAL THAT THE ACFT HAD AN INACCURATE FUEL QUANTITY INDICATING SYSTEM.  THE RIGHT TANK GAUGE INDICATED 1/4 FULL WHEN THE TANK WAS EMPTY.  THE LEFT GAUGE INDICATED SLIGHTLY ABOVE EMPTY WITH THE TANK EMPTY.  THE PIC REPORTED THAT HE HAD PURCHASED THE ACFT ABOUT 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.  HIS TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE IN THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT 24 HOURS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL97LA028](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA028), Dec 26, 1996: Mooney M20F (N737JC), Daytona Beach, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel consumption calculations, and the excessive flow of the fuel injector servo, that combined to result in fuel exhaustion.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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