- Date
- July 18, 2008, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bryan, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8814LEagle Eagle DW-1
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 68807
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 loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's improper fuel calculations. A contributing factor was the inaccurate fuel gauge.
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
The pilot of the agricultural spray airplane reported that the airplane's fuel gauge was stuck and it provided an inaccurate indication of the fuel remaining. He thought there was about 30 minutes of fuel remaining, but the engine lost power about 3 miles from the grass airstrip where he intended to land. He reported that the airplane experienced fuel exhaustion, and he executed a forced landing to a field. The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over in a field. The inspection of the airplane in the field revealed no fuel in the fuel tank. No fuel was found in the hose from the electric fuel pump to the engine driven fuel pump.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the agricultural spray airplane reported that the airplane's fuel gauge was stuck and it provided an inaccurate indication of the fuel remaining. He thought there was about 30 minutes of fuel remaining, but the engine quit about 3 miles from the grass airstrip where he intended to land. He reported that the airplane experienced fuel exhaustion, and he executed a forced landing to a field. The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over in a field. The inspection of the airplane in the field revealed no fuel in the fuel tank. No fuel was found in the hose from the electric fuel pump to the engine driven fuel pump.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8814L
- Reported as
- Eagle Eagle DW-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- DW-1-0087-82
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Hummel Aviation
- Registered owner
- Lynn A. Flaten
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Bryan, OH
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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 300 in this make and model · 300 in the last 90 days · 42 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Other investigations on N8814L · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.