# NTSB CEN13LA164: Bellanca 17-30A, N93747, Morris, IL, February 16, 2013

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: February 16, 2013, 17:03 local (23:03 UTC)
- Place: Morris, IL
- Coordinates: 41.423889, -88.418609 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.4239&lon=-88.4186&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Emergency descent](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/600) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Emergency descent: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 3 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report June 19, 2013
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Central Region
- Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office
- NTSB case key (mKey): 86239
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN13LA164
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/86239/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86239
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13LA164

## Probable cause

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid level (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 17-30A, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=1220433), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md)
- [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 17-30A, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=1220433), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md)
- [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 17-30A, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=1220433), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Approach-VFR pattern base: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Bellanca 17-30A, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=1220433), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)
- [Emergency descent: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [Bellanca 17-30A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md?model=1220433), [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The engine lost power as the airplane was turning onto the base leg in the traffic pattern. The pilot made a forced landing on a road about 4 miles south of the airport. During the landing roll, the airplane’s right wing struck a wooden road sign. The airplane swerved to the right, went off the road, and came to a stop in a plowed field. The day before the accident flight, the pilot fueled the airplane to capacity (79 gallons total of which 75 gallons were usable) and then flew 754 miles in 5 hours 46 minutes. The airplane was not refueled before the accident flight, which lasted 18 minutes 56 seconds. A postaccident examination showed no usable fuel in either wing tank. A download of data from the airplane's engine monitoring system showed a drop in fuel flow, manifold pressure, and oil pressure, consistent with fuel flow interruption, then fuel exhaustion. Fuel calculations performed after the accident suggested that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.

## Factual narrative

On February 16, 2013, at 1703 central standard time, the pilot of a Bellanca 17-30A, N93747, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on a road after the airplane lost engine power near Morris Municipal Airport (C09), Morris, Illinois. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from C09 at 1644. According to the pilot’s accident report, the purpose of the flight was to give his son, also a private pilot, an orientation ride in the Bellanca, and he allowed him to fly the airplane. They made one touch-and-go landing on runway 36. As they turned from downwind onto the base leg for the second landing, the engine lost power. The airplane was about 1,400 feet msl (above mean sea level), in landing configuration, and 3 miles for the runway. The pilot took control of the airplane from his son and made a forced landing on a road about 4 miles south of the airport. During the landing roll, the airplane’s right wing struck a wooden road sign. The airplane swerved to the right, went off the road, and came to a stop in a plowed field. Postaccident examination revealed both wings were punctured, and the nose and right main landing gear had collapsed. The pilot said that on February 15, 2013, the day before the accident, he had flown from Meadow Lake Airport (KFLY), Colorado Springs, Colorado, to C09. He said that prior to departure, the airplane had been fueled to capacity (79 gallons total, 75 gallons useful), and that the flight took an estimated 5 hours and 30 minutes to complete. He estimated his fuel consumption to be 11.5 gallons per hour. The airplane was not refueled after arriving at C09 or before the accident flight. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site. He reported finding only residual fuel in the left and right wing tanks. No other anomalies were found with the airplane. The inspector removed the Insight Instrument Corporation’s G3 engine monitoring system from the airplane and downloaded the data. The data revealed a drop in fuel flow, manifold pressure and oil pressure, consistent with fuel flow interruption, then fuel exhaustion. The flight lasted 18 minutes, 56 seconds. According to FlightAware.com, the flight from KFLY to C09 took 5 hours and 46 minutes to complete, and the estimated fuel burn was a minimum of 12 gallons per hour. The cruise profile depicted 2 hours flown at 15,000 feet, then a descent to 5,000 feet, then a climb to 10,000 feet for the duration rest of the flight, or 2.5 hours. This was corroborated by the Insight Instrument Corporation’s G3 engine monitoring system data. The FAA inspector prepared and submitted a Preflight Planning Tool, in which he computed the 754-mile flight would take 5 hoursand 23 minutes to complete and consume 67 gallons of fuel. This would leave approximately 4 gallons per fuel tank for the accident flight.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N93747](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N93747-2015-04-09), registration cancelled 2015-04-09, S/N 73-30605, built 1973 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Bellanca 17-30A
- Registry model: [Bellanca 17-30A](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-17-30a) (registry code 1220433) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 73-30605
- Airframe hours: 2216
- Engines: Continental IO-520-K 300 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Patrick R. Rhodes
- Registered owner: Patrick R. Rhodes
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, May 2, 2012, 41 hours before
- Departed: C09, Morris, IL
- Destination: C09, MORRIS, IL
- Airport: C09, Morris Municipal, runway 36, 5,001 × 75 ft, asphalt

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 60; injuries: none; commercial, private, flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review October 31, 2012; seat: right; flight hours: 3,863 total, 43 in this make and model, 3,404 as pilot in command, 19 in the last 90 days, 12 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours
- Pilot; age 30; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review March 5, 2012; seat: left; flight hours: 87 total, 13 as pilot in command

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 290° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 3,900 ft broken
- Temperature: 25 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observed at: C09, 4 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 20130216002149A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130216002149A), Feb 16, 2013: Bellanca 17-30A, Morris, IL, Substantial damage. During an extended downwind to base turn, the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power and executed an emergency landing on a major road. The right wing…

## Other investigations on N93747 (1)

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.

- [NTSB LAX82DUG11](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX82DUG11), Apr 25, 1982: Bellanca 300A (N93747), Lucerne, CA, substantial damage

## Docket (6 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 29, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86239. 4.4 MB in all.

- NTSB Form 6120.1-2, Pilot-Operator Aircraft Accident Report (item 1, .PDF, 3.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388598&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120.1-2,%20Pilot-Operator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report-Redacted.PDF
- E-Mails To-From FAA Inspector (item 2, .PDF, 41 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40389932&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=E-Mails%20To-From%20FAA%20Inspector-Redacted.PDF
- Preflight Planning Tool (item 3, .PDF, 329 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388602&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Preflight%20Planning%20Tool-Master.PDF
- E-Mails To-From Pilot (item 4, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388604&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=E-Mails%20To-From%20Pilot-Redacted.PDF
- Insight Instrument Corporation, G3 Engine Monitoring System (item 5, .PDF, 156 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388609&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Insight%20Instrument%20Corporation,%20G3%20Engine%20Monitoring%20System-Redacted.PDF
- Weather Reports and Records (item 6, .PDF, 49 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40390148&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF

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.

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