- Date
- July 9, 1992, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Indianapolis, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N40TSTownsend-Snyder Rultan Varieze
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920709024809A
- Case key
- 15254
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
Fuel starvation due to improper fuel tank selection.
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
Pilot selected auxiliary tank for starting, and did not select main tanks after start. Engine quit while on final approach at 350 feet. Pilot switched tanks but did not get engine restarted. Forced landing was made short of runway in tall corn.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40TS
- Reported as
- Townsend-Snyder Rultan Varieze (RULTAN VAR)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- VE470TS
- Airframe hours
- 382
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C, 116 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Alan R. Townsend
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 26, 1991 · 69 hours before
- Departed
- MQJ
- Destination
- MQJ
- Airport
- MQJ · Mount Comfort, runway 25, 5,500 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 282 total · 110 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 20 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.