# NTSB ATL97LA141: Tomlinson Pober Super ACE, N54JT, Lebanon, TN, September 27, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 27, 1997, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Lebanon, TN - Coordinates: 36.200817, -86.319602 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2008&lon=-86.3196&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 4, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 3907 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL97LA141 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3907/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97LA141 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to follow normal checklist procedures that resulted in fuel starvation. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - checklist - not followed, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - starvation (cause) - fuel tank selector position - improper, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot estimated that the airplane had 16 gallons of low lead aviation fuel in the tanks at takeoff. After takeoff the pilot switched the fuel selector from the fuselage tank to the wing tank. After 30 minutes of flight the pilot returned to the airport and entered the traffic pattern for landing. About 200 feet above the ground, while on final approach to land, the engine quit. Efforts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The airplane collided with a tree short of the active runway. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. Normal operational procedures for takeoff and landing require that the fuel selector be placed in the fuselage/front tank position. The pilot stated that he had not switched the fuel selector to the fuller fuel tank, fuselage/front tank, prior to the loss of engine power. ## Factual narrative On September 27, 1997, at 1430 central daylight time, a Tomlinson, Pober Super Ace, N54JT, collided with a tree during an attempted emergency landing to the Lebanon Municipal Airport in Lebanon, Tennessee. The local pleasure flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot was not injured. The flight departed Lebanon, Tennessee, at 1400. The pilot estimated that the airplane had 16 gallons of low lead aviation fuel in the tanks at takeoff. After takeoff the pilot switched the fuel selector from the fuselage tank to the wing tank. After 30 minutes of flight the pilot returned to Lebanon Airport and entered the traffic pattern for runway04. About 200 feet above the ground, while on final approach to land, the engine quit. Efforts, to restart the engine, failed. The airplane collided with a tree short runway. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. Normal operational procedures for takeoff and landing require that the fuel selector be placed in the fuselage/front tank position. The pilot stated that he had not switched the fuel selector to the fuller fuel tank, fuselage/front tank, prior to the loss of engine power. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N54JT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N54JT), registered now, S/N 20A (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Tomlinson POBER SUPER ACE (POBER SUPE) - Registry model: [Tomlinson John J PRBR SUPR ACE CORBEN](https://openairdocs.org/model/tomlinson-john-j-prbr-supr-ace-corben) (registry code 05618LN) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 22A - Airframe hours: 130 - Engines: Lycoming O-235-C1C 115 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John J. Tomlinson - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 1997, 5 hours before - Departed: M54 - Airport: M54, Lebanon Municipal, runway 4, 2,500 × 200 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: center; flight hours: 8,000 total, 130 in this make and model, 900 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 14,000 ft broken - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: BNA, 35 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970927044569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970927044569A), Sep 27, 1997: Amtr SUPERACE, Lebanon, TN, Substantial damage. Fuel starvation low on final struck tree near runway. Failed to swtich to fuselage tank per proper procedure. (-23) airman flying a homebuilt aircraft. Did not… 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. --- 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.