- Date
- September 9, 2021, 12:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Marshalltown, IA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N306TAThatcher CX4
- Defining event
- Approach: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration; Des Moines FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210909015499A
- Case key
- 103861
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 failure to properly determine the correct fuel quantity during preflight inspection that resulted in a loss of engine power during approach due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 3
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
The pilot stated that he visually inspected the airplane fuel quantity before the flight and estimated there was 6 gallons of fuel. He said there was enough fuel for the planned flight with a fuel consumption rate of 3.5 gallons/hour. After he flew to an airport to perform a touch-and-go landing, in addition to local area flying, he began a return flight to the departure airport. He then realized that the airplane fuel quantity gauge indicated a fuel consumption that was greater than he had planned. About 3 miles from the departure/destination airport, the fuel gauge indicated near empty, and the engine ceased operation. He said he restarted the engine, which operated for about 5 seconds and then quit again. The pilot performed a forced landing on a corn field, during which the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage that included damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. The pilot said the loss of engine power was due to his overestimation of fuel quantity during his preflight of the airplane and the inaccuracy of the fuel gauge. The pilot said there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N306TA
- Reported as
- Thatcher CX4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CX159
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 359
- Engine
- Revmaster 2100D, 65 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Pilot
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · September 19, 2020
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- MIW · Marshalltown Municipal Airport
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
- 68
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 242 total · 80 in this make and model · 219 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- MIW, 1.5 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 14, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 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.