- Date
- June 29, 2011, 09:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Frankston, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N55FEMooney M20E
- Defining event
- Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 4, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20110629013029A
- Case key
- 80938
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 improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, while en route the engine started to run rough and then lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane collided with a barbed-wired fence and sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar. A postaccident examination revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. The examination did not disclose any evidence of a mechanical malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, while en route the engine started to run rough and then lost power. During the forced landing to a field, the airplane ran through a barbed-wired fence, damaging the landing gear. An examination of the airframe revealed substantial damage to the right wing spar. In addition, both fuel tanks were empty. An examination of the airframe, engine, and remaining systems revealed no mechanical anomalies or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55FE
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 619
- Airframe hours
- 4,180
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 28, 2010
- Departed
- T25 · Frankston, TX
- Destination
- RFI · Henderson, TX
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 16, 2010
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,708 total · 1,703 in this make and model · 4,420 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KTYR, 17 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 12, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N55FE · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.