20060730020309A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Amcnlg AL11 · Chicago, IL · July 30, 2006

Date: July 30, 2006
Place: Chicago, IL
Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: N848LC
NTSB investigation: NTSBCHI06FA224
Reported as: Amcnlg AL11
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 1
Pilot’s flight hours: 12,000 total

N848LCRegistered now · American Legend AL11S/N AL-1047 Airframe modelAmerican Legend AL11

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) Pilots departed oshkosh, WI enroute to an airport south of gary, IN. The pilots elected to fly over lake Michigan approximately 4 to 5 miles off shore. Aircraft was equipped with onboard fuel metering and visible wet line fuel sight gauge. Fuel sight gauge indicated zero fuel but metered fuel indicated 1.3 hours remaining. Pilots continued flight over water until fuel exhaustion. Fuel cap on one fuel tank was missing causing excessive fuel loss. Aircraft fuel metering equipment is a mathematical computation of theoretical fuel burn only. No actual onboard fuel remaining.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) PILOTS DEPARTED OSHKOSH, WI ENROUTE TO AN AIRPORT SOUTH OF GARY, IN. THE PILOTS ELECTED TO FLY OVER LAKE MICHIGAN APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 5 MILES OFF SHORE. AIRCRAFT WAS EQUIPPED WITH ONBOARD FUEL METERING AND VISIBLE WET LINE FUEL SIGHT GAUGE. FUEL SIGHT GAUGE INDICATED ZERO FUEL BUT METERED FUEL INDICATED 1.3 HOURS REMAINING. PILOTS CONTINUED FLIGHT OVER WATER UNTIL FUEL EXHAUSTION. FUEL CAP ON ONE FUEL TANK WAS MISSING CAUSING EXCESSIVE FUEL LOSS. AIRCRAFT FUEL METERING EQUIPMENT IS A MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION OF THEORETICAL FUEL BURN ONLY. NO ACTUAL ONBOARD FUEL REMAINING.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CHI06FA224Accident · 1 fatalField investigationFinal reportChicago, ILThe failure of both pilots to assure that the fuel cap was securely in place prior to takeoff which resulted in fuel siphoning and untimately fuel exhaustion. An additional cause was the decision to fly over the lake outside of gliding distance to shore along…Jul 30, 2006 · Substantial damage