# Accident 20180124006139A: Quartz Mountain Aerospace Inc 11E, Omaha, NE, January 24, 2018

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 24, 2018, 14:18 local time
- Place: Omaha, NE
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.1961° N, 96.1122° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1961&lon=-96.1122&mi=10
- Aircraft: N515BW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N515BW-2018-08-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Quartz Mountain Aerospace 11E (registry code 7320100, https://openairdocs.org/model/quartz-mountain-aerospace-11e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-360-ES (registry code 17160, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-es) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: QUARTZ MOUNTAIN AEROSPACE INC 11E
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO-360-ES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 72 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN18LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA085) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180124006139A

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 24, 2018, APPROXIMATELY 1418 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A QUARTZ MOUNTAIN AEROSPACE INC. LUSCOMBE 11E WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHILE MAKING AN EMERGENCY OFF-AIRPORT IN A BASEBALL FIELD APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF MILLARD (MLE) AIRPORT.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM MILLARD (MLE) ON AN INSTRUCTION FLIGHT, APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS EARLIER.  THE INSTRUCTOR AND COMMERCIAL PILOT WERE THE ONLY OCCUPANTS OF THE AIRCRAFT.

THE INSTRUCTOR AND COMMERCIAL PILOT DEPARTED VFR FOR AN INSTRUMENT CROSS-COUNTRY INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT FROM MILLARD (MLE) TO WAYNE, NEBRASKA (LCG), GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA (GRI), AND RETURN TO MILLARD (MLE).  DURING A SIMULATED INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO RUNWAY 12 INTO MILLARD (MLE), THE AIRCRAFT?S ENGINE LOST POWER.  THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT.  THE AIRCRAFT CLIPPED TREETOPS PRIOR TO LANDING IN A BASEBALL FIELD.  UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED 124 FEET AND COLLIDED WITH A TREE, FENCE POSTS, AND A CHAIN-LINK FENCE.  THE INSTRUCTOR AND COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS NOT INJURED AND NO INJURIES TO OTHERS ON THE GROUND.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS RELOCATED TO A HANGAR AT THE MILLARD (MLE) AIRPORT.  THE AIRCRAFT OWNER, MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, AND FAA INSPECTORS DISCOVERED ½ GALLON TOTAL IN THE FUEL SYSTEM.  THE FUEL CAPACITY OF THE LUSCOMBE IS 42 GALLONS TOTAL (40 GALLONS USEABLE).  ACCORDING TO THE FUELER, THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT FULL OF FUEL, PRIOR TO TAKE-OFF.  AIRCRAFT RECORDS INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT FLEW 3.1 HOURS HOBBS AND 3.1 HOURS OF TACHOMETER TIME DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT.

## 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 CEN18LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18LA085), Jan 24, 2018: Quartz Mountain Aerospace L-11E (N515BW), Omaha, NE, substantial damage. Probable cause: The instructor pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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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