- Date
- October 30, 2023, 18:30 local (Oct 31, 2023, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lamar, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1167JMooney M20K
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA - Denver FSDO
- FAA report
- 20231030017979A
- Case key
- 193338
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 fuel planning and improper in-flight decision making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 5
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 reported that about 4 hours and 15 minutes after departure, the engine lost all power. The pilot was successful in restoring engine power by switching fuel tanks and turning on the auxiliary fuel pump. However, the engine lost all power again about 5 miles from the destination runway. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane struck a fence resulting in substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1167J
- Reported as
- Mooney M20K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-0690
- Built
- 1982
- Airframe hours
- 4,231
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360 SER, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · October 27, 2023 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- KENL · Centralia, IL
- Destination
- KLAA · Lamar, CO
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, Handheld GPS
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 20, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 6,991 total · 18 in this make and model · 6,791 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 40° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KLAA, 6 nm away
- METAR
- KLAA 310053Z AUTO 04004KT 10SM CLR 06/M13 A3025 RMK AO2 SLP272 T00561133
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 25, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.8 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.