- Date
- September 30, 1991, 17:30 local (Oct 1, 1991, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1416HAeronca Sedan 15AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19910930044109A
- Case key
- 5629
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to ensure that the fuel caps were secure, which restuled in a fuel leak and subsequent fuel exhaustion.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated he saw fuel streaming from the trailing edge of the wings. The engine began losing power, and the pilot was unable to keep it running through the use of the fuel primer. Subsequently, the plane nosed over during a forced landing on mud flats and was damaged. The airplane's original 145 HP engine had been replaced with a 200 HP engine. The original fuel caps with integral fuel system vents were still installed. The wings of the airplane were not recovered and disappeared with the tide; as a result, the fuel quantity could not be checked. Examination showed that there was no fuel in the carburetor bowl.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1416H
- Reported as
- Aeronca Sedan 15AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15AC-480
- Airframe hours
- 3,840
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Darin Applebury
- Registered owner
- Jay Applebury
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 25, 1991
- Departed
- Montague Island, AK
- Destination
- LHD · Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 530 total · 250 in this make and model · 470 as pilot in command · 125 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 150° at 25 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.