# Accident 19980626037849A: Saab F35DRAKEN, Nassau, Bahamas, June 26, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 26, 1998, 09:45 local time
- Place: Nassau, Bahamas
- Airport: International Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8200° N, 76.0298° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8200&lon=-76.0298&mi=10
- Aircraft: N156XD, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N156XD-2017-04-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Saab F-35 DRAKEN (registry code 7840344, https://openairdocs.org/model/saab-f-35-draken) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SAAB F35DRAKEN
- Reported engine: RROYCE AVONRM6C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,470 total, 43 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98LA073) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980626037849A

## Narrative

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

(-23)PILOT REPORTED ENGINE FLAME-OUT APP. 35 MILES OFF THE COAST OF VIRGINIA BEACH. PILOT EJECTED FROM AIRCRAFT JUST PRIOR TO AIRCRAFT IMPACTING DIRT FIELD IN A STRAIGHT AND LEVEL ATTITUDE.  UPON ARRIVAL AT SCENE, AIRCRAFT FOUND UP-RIGHT APP. 1/4 MILE AND 90 DEGREES FROM APPROACH END OF RUNWAY.  EJECTION SEAT FOUND APP. 200 YARDS FROM AIRCRAFT.  TWO EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS FOUND APP. 150 YARDS FROM AIRCRAFT.  AIRCRAFT IMPACTED GEAR-UP.  INITIAL INVESTIGATION FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF MAJOR FUEL LEAKAGE ON AIRCRAFT EXTERIOR OR EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS EXTERIOR.  AIRCRAFT TO BE MOVED TO A SECURE FACILITY FOR FURTHER INSPECTION.  DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT DETERMINED TO BE SUBSTANTIAL.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   (.4)THE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING THE SECOND OF TWO SUPPORT FLIGHTS FOR A U.S. NAVY SHIP. ON EACH FLIGHT, HE MADE THREE PASSES.  FOLLOWING THE LAST PASS OF THE SECOND FLIGHT, THE PILOT MADE A 5G PULL-UP.  ONCE 'ON TOP', HE NOTED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S FUEL QUANTITY WAS RAPIDLY GOING DOWN.  THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY, AND CLIMBED THE AIRPLANE TO 35,000 FEET, WHERE THE ENGINE FLAMED OUT.  HE ESTABLISHED A 300-KNOT GLIDE, AND WAS VECTORED TO A NAVAL AIR STATION.  HE STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE EITHER REACHED, OR WAS ABOVE THREE 'KEY' POSITIONS, AND ON AIRSPEED.  HOWEVER, AFTER THE THIRD KEY, HE REALIZED THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT REACH A RUNWAY, SO HE SUCCESSFULLY EJECTED LESS THAN 50 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A PLOWED FIELD, AND REMAINED UPRIGHT UNTIL IT SKIDDED TO A STOP.  THERE WAS NO POST-IMPACT FIRE, AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL LEAKAGE, NOR OF THE FAILURE OF ANY AIRFRAME COMPONENT.  THE SECOND FLIGHT WAS ABOUT 15 MINUTES LONGER THAN THE FIRST.  WITH THE AIRPLANE'S CAPACITANCE FUEL INDICATING SYSTEM; HIGH SPEED FLIGHT FUEL QUANTITY INDICATIONS COULD BE INACCURATE.  THE 2,700-HOUR PILOT HAD 43 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME IN MAKE AND MODEL.

## 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 IAD98LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98LA073), Jun 26, 1998: Saab-Scania F-35 Draken (N156XD), Oceana, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's inadequate fuel management which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. A related factor was the pilot's unfamiliarity with the fuel system.

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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