- Date
- November 11, 1990, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bennett, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N87PFFogarty Pitts S1SEW
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901111049609A
- Case key
- 18054
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 and the resultant fuel exhaustion induced power loss. A factor was the soft terrain in which the forced landing was performed.
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 ATP pilot was performing aerobatics with a borrowed airplane. He said the engine quit at 1500 feet AGL, and he made a forced landing in a wheat field. The landing gear was sheared and the plane came to rest nose down. Two wing spars were bent and the propeller was damaged. The owner and pilot said the plane had flown for 2.5 hours on 19 gallons of fuel. The owner said the plane used 8 gallons per hour. The investigation found no fuel in the tanks and only a trace in the engine fuel system. A postaccident engine run resulted in a normal run. The pilot stated he ran out of fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87PF
- Reported as
- Fogarty Pitts S1SEW
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 30
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Fogarty, Patrick D.
- Departed
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Destination
- APA
- Airport
- NONE
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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 21 in this make and model · 7 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 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.