- Date
- March 15, 2025, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kiowa, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N237DBStemme S10-VT
- Defining event
- Enroute: 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
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250315002159A
- Case key
- 199868
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 inspection and fuel planning which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 4
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 while enroute to his destination, the engine lost all power. He attempted to restart the engine, stowed the engine to reduce drag, and executed a forced landing. During the forced landing, the glider impacted a fence and came to rest upright on a dirt road, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and rudder. The pilot reported that he ran out of fuel. He stated that he should have used a dipstick to check the fuel level in the wings and not trusted the fuel gauges.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N237DB
- Reported as
- Stemme S10-VT
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 11-045
- Built
- 2000
- Engine
- Rotax 914 F2, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 1V6 · Canon City, CO
- Destination
- APA · Centennial, CO
- Airport
- NONE · Road
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 20, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,200 total · 120 in this make and model · 6,077 as pilot in command · 196 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 12 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KMNH, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KMNH 152155Z AUTO 31012G18KT 10SM BKN039 OVC050 00/M07 A2969 RMK AO2=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 5, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.7 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.