- Date
- May 19, 1990, 15:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Finley, ND
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N317MAAdams Boredom Fighter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900519016729A
- Case key
- 17801
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
A power loss due to fuel exahustion and the pilot's inadequate fuel planning. A factor was the ditch in which touchdown occurred.
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
Due to an unexpected headwind the airplane was running low on fuel and the pilot elected to land short of his intended destination. During approach fuel exhaustion resulted in a total power loss. The pilot made a forced landing in a ditch on the downwind side of a road. The pilot listed as safety recommendations 'better fuel planning and better flight planning.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N317MA
- Reported as
- Adams Boredom Fighter (BOREDOM FI)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 100
- Engine
- Continental C-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Adams, Steven J.
- Departed
- DVL · Devils Lake, ND
- Destination
- FAR · Fargo, ND
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 828 total · 40 in this make and model · 828 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.