# Incident 19970917035389I: Mooney M20K, San Rafael, CA, September 17, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 17, 1997, 20:30 local time
- Place: San Rafael, CA
- Airport: Martin Ranch Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.9810° N, 122.5069° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of San Rafael, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.9810&lon=-122.5069&mi=10
- Aircraft: N57099, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N57099-2017-06-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20K (registry code 5870220, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20k) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20K
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,000 total, 3,000 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970917035389I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: AIRCRAFT PILOTED BY OWNER LANDED SHORT OF MARIN-SMITH RANCH (CA35), CA. AIRPORT. PILOT STATED THAT WHILE ON APPROACH TO LAND, HE ENCOUNTERED A LOW FUEL SITUATION. AIRCRAFT RAN OUT OF FUEL AT APPROXIMATELY 800 FEET ALTITUDE, ONE HALF MILE FROM THE TOUCHDOWN ZONE OF THE RUNWAY. NO INJURIES TO THE SOLE OCCUPANT, AND THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE LANDING GEAR. HOWEVER, THE PROPELLER SUSTAINED DAMAGE, ALL THREE BLADES WERE BENT BACK. THE PILOT STATED THAT A PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED A TOTAL USABLE FUEL OF 18 GALLONS, EACH FUEL TANK GAUGE INDICATED 9 GALLONS. UPON INVESTIGATION OF THIS AIRCRAFT, THE LEFT FUEL TANK GAUGE INDICATED 9 GALLONS REMAINING ALTHOUGH THE LEFT TANK WAS VERY EMPTY. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ CLOSED.

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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