- Date
- March 10, 1993, 22:22 local (Mar 11, 1993, 04:22 UTC)
- Place
- Bismarck, ND
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N88384Bellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report November 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930310051859A
- Case key
- 15693
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 failure to refuel the airplane en route to ensure adequate fuel to complete 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
The pilot departed grand island with full fuel and calculations indicated an en route fuel stop would be required. While en route, the pilot recalculated the fuel consumption and elected not to make the fuel stop but to continue to the destination. Fuel exhaustion occurred during the landing approach at the destination airport. A forced landing was made on a road during which the right wing contacted a tree.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88384
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 774-75
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Leroy E. Nielsen
- Registered owner
- Leroy E. Nielsen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- GRI · Grand Island, NE
- Airport
- BIS · Bismarck Municipal, runway 31
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 251 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 18 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BIS, 3 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 N88384 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.