- Date
- October 9, 2008, 18:31 local (22:31 UTC)
- Place
- Chipley, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Aircraft
- N246RRVelocity SE-FG
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20081009857119A
- Case key
- 69264
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 inadequate in-flight fuel planning, resulting in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he began a landing descent for a planned fuel stop. He reported that the left tank was low, while the right tank had more than one-half tank of fuel. At 7,000 feet msl in the descent, the engine lost power and quit. He was unable to glide to an airport, so he prepared for landing on a road. During the landing, he steered the airplane to avoid an oncoming truck. The left wing struck a pole, resulting in substantial damage. Both main wing fuel tanks gravity feed to a five-gallon sump tank, and an FAA inspector was able to drain approximately two gallons of fuel from the sump tank at the accident site; no fuel could be drained from the main tanks. The tank sight gauges indicated zero in the left tank and well below the lowest mark in the right tank. An additional 4.75 gallons of fuel was recovered during disassembly of the airplane for transport. Inspection of the fuel manifold revealed no evidence of fuel. The owner's representative stated that the low-profile wing tanks would have unusable fuel in a nose-low attitude, since the main tank fuel drains are located aft and inboard on the tank.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he began a descent for landing in Tallahassee (KTLH) for a planned fuel stop. He reported that the left tank was low, while the right tank had more than one-half tank of fuel. At 7,000 feet msl in the descent, the engine lost power and quit. He was unable to glide to an airport, so he prepared for landing on a road. During the landing, he steered the airplane to avoid an oncoming truck. The left wing struck a pole, resulting in substantial damage. Both main wing fuel tanks gravity feed to a five-gallon sump tank, and an FAA inspector was able to drain approximately two gallons of fuel from the sump tank at the accident site; no fuel could be drained from the main tanks. The tank sight gauges indicated zero in the left tank and well below the lowest mark in the right tank. An additional 4.75 gallons of fuel was recovered during disassembly of the airplane for transport. Inspection of the fuel manifold revealed no evidence of fuel. The owner's representative stated that the low-profile wing tanks would have unusable fuel in a nose-low attitude, since the main tank fuel drains are located aft and inboard on the tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N246RR
- Reported as
- Velocity SE-FG
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- SFG-037
- Airframe hours
- 187
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1E6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 16, 2008
- Departed
- 7F3 · Caddo Mills, TX
- Destination
- KTLH · Tallahassee, FL
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 18, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 17 in this make and model · 4,200 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F
- Observed at
- KTLH, 64 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.