- Date
- April 14, 1992, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Gadsden, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N12TJGuy Whisenant Skybolt
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920414009989A
- Case key
- 8586
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
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, resulting in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate fuel supply for the planned flight.
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 was on the downwind leg for runway 18 when the engine quit. He attempted to glide to runway 24, but had insufficient altitude. He force landed the airplane in a pasture about 300 yards from the runway. The aircraft collided with two fences, two ditches, and crossed a road before coming to a stop. The pilot reported that he had exhausted his available fuel supply, and the fuel quantity gauges were giving false readings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12TJ
- Reported as
- Guy Whisenant Skybolt
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2
- Airframe hours
- 9
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Owens, Donald W.
- Registered owner
- Owens, Donald W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · February 3, 1992 · 9 hours before
- Airport
- GAD · Gadsden Municipal, runway 24, 6,803 × 150 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 772 total · 5 in this make and model · 655 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GAD, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.