- Date
- May 1, 1989, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wixom, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N132BCCessna 320D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890501010659A
- Case key
- 14346
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
Pilot's inattention to the fuel system during preflight and inadequate fuel system monitoring throughout the flight.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While maneuvering for purposes of aerial photography, both engines on the Cessna 320D failed due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot declared an emergency and was vectored toward the nearest airport. The pilot was unable to reach the airport, and executed a forced landing in a wooded area approximately 1/2 mile southeast of it. The pilot stated that he had forgotten to check the fuel quantity during the preflight inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N132BC
- Reported as
- Cessna 320D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 320D-0130
- Airframe hours
- 5,778
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-B, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Air-Land Surveys, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 2, 1988 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- PTK · Pontiac, MI
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,275 total · 2,110 in this make and model · 3,010 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 31 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PTK, 11 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.
Other investigations on N132BC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.