# Accident 20000805039989A: Cessna 140, Post Mills, VT, August 5, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 5, 2000, 18:45 local time - Place: Post Mills, VT - Airport: Post Mills Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 43.8837° N, 72.2521° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at POST MILLS (2B9), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.8837&lon=-72.2521&mi=10 - Aircraft: N73044, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N73044-2001-06-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 140 (registry code 2071602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-140) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 140 - Reported engine: CONT C8512F - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 23,677 total, 274 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC00LA219](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00LA219) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000805039989A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)THE PILOT STATED THAT ON APPROACH INTO POST MILLS VERMONT, HE SAW AN ULTRA-LIGHT AIRCRAFT ON THE RUNWAY. HE PROCEEDED TO CONDUCT A GO-AROUND, HOWEVER THE ENGINE LOST POWER. UPON INVESTIGATION OF THE AIRCRAFT, THE LEFT TANK WAS FOUND EMPTY, FUEL CAME OUT OF THE RIGHT TANK WHEN OPENED AND WHEN THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS SELECTED TO THE RIGHT TNAK, FUEL FLOWED FROM THE TANK THE FUEL SUMP, WHICH WAS BROKEN, AND THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS DETECTED. (.4)ON AUGUST 5, 2000, ABOUT 1845 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 140, N73044, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AFTER IT EXPERIENCED A POWER LOSS DURING A GO-AROUND AT POST MILLS AIRPORT, POST MILLS, VERMONT. THE CERTIFICATED AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS RETURNING HOME FROM ROCKLAND, MAINE, AND ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AT POST MILLS FOR LANDING. THE TAKEOFF AND EN ROUTE PHASE OF THE FLIGHT HAD BEEN CONDUCTED WITH THE FUEL SELECTOR ON THE LEFT TANK. WHILE ON BASE LEG FOR RUNWAY 04, THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS REPOSITIONED TO THE RIGHT TANK, WHICH WAS FULL. ON FINAL APPROACH, WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT 150 TO 200 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY, AN ULTRALIGHT PULLED IN FRONT OF THE PILOT AND HE INITIATED A GO-AROUND. THE PILOT FIRST TURNED TO THE RIGHT, TO PARALLEL THE RUNWAY ON THE RIGHT SIDE, AFTER WHICH, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE TURNED THE FUEL SELECTOR, MAGNETO SWITCH, AND MASTER SWITCH, EACH TO OFF AS THE AIRPLANE BEGAN BRUSHING THE TOPS OF THE TREES. THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED THROUGH TREES AND CAME TO REST ON THE GROUND IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE AND REPORTED THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS IN THE OFF POSITION. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A FUEL SPILL ON THE GROUND, AND INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL, WHO INITIALLY RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, REVEALED THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS NOT DETECTED. THE LEFT FUEL TANK WAS EMPTY, AND WHEN THE CAP WAS LOOSENED ON THE RIGHT TANK, FUEL GUSHED OUT AROUND THE EDGES OF THE CAP. WHEN THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS POSITIONED TO THE RIGHT TANK, FUEL FLOWED FROM THE RIGHT TANK TO THE SUMP, WHICH WAS BROKEN, AND THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS DETECTED IN THE AIR. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE HAD BEEN AIRBORNE FOR 1 HOUR, 43 MINUTES. ACCORDING TO THE CESSNA 140 OWNER'S MANUAL, THE CAPACITY OF THE WING FUEL TANKS WAS 12.5 GALLONS EACH. ## 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 NYC00LA219](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00LA219), Aug 5, 2000: Cessna 140 (N73044), Post Mills, VT, substantial damage. Probable cause: was the pilot's improper fuel management which resulted in power loss due to fuel starvation. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.