- Date
- July 16, 1993, 15:34 local (19:34 UTC)
- Place
- Independent Hil, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3186Hancock- Harris Pitts Special
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930716024219A
- Case key
- 8791
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/preparation which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power.
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 that during his preflight/planning preparation he misread the fuel gage. He reported that he departed with almost empty tanks and ran out of fuel minutes later. He also stated that there was no mechanical malfunction nor weather problems. The engine lost power and the pilot made a forced landing in a backyard colliding with a shed.
Factual narrative
On Friday, July 16, 1993, about 1534 eastern daylight time, N3186, a Pitts Special, owned and operated by Steve Curelop of Washington, DC, crashed in a backyard in Independent Hill, Virginia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR 91 and originated in Fort Washington, Maryland.
The pilot reported that during the preflight inspection he misread the fuel gage. He stated that he departed, "with almost empty tank and ran out of fuel minutes later. There was no mechanical malfunction, no weather problem. Accident was pilot error during preflight." The airplane lost engine power and a forced landing was made in a backyard and the airplane collided with a shed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3186
- Reported as
- Hancock- Harris Pitts Special (PITTS SPEC)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- HH1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Steven Curelop
- Registered owner
- Steven Curelop/Jeff Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 15, 1992 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- VKX · Ft. Washington, MD
- Destination
- IDI · Indiana, PA
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 399 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 8 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HEF, 6 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.