- Date
- October 3, 2009, 15:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Gloucester, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6626RMalone Henry O Howland
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 19, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20091003050139A
- Case key
- 74845
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 loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate pre-flight planning .
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 was conducting a short flight to a friend's private airport, approximately 12 nautical miles away from his point of departure. He stated that he visually inspected the airplane's fuel level prior to departure and estimated that he had enough fuel to conduct the flight. The airplane was not equipped with a fuel quantity gauge. The pilot stated that while cruising at 1,500 feet, he "ran out of gas." The pilot attempted to land on a road, but the airplane collided with power lines and then struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident scene reported that there was no fuel found in any of the airplane's fuel tanks.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was conducting a short flight to a friend's private airport, approximately 12 nautical miles away from his point of departure. He stated that he visually inspected the airplane's fuel level prior to departure and estimated that he had enough to conduct the flight. The airplane was not equipped with a fuel quantity gauge. The pilot stated that while cruising at 1,500 feet, he "ran out of gas." The pilot attempted to land on a road, but the airplane collided with power lines and then struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident scene reported that there was no fuel found in any of the airplane's fuel tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6626R
- Reported as
- Malone Henry O Howland (H-2A)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Engine
- Hirth F30, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael Malone
- Registered owner
- Henry O Malone
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Departed
- FYJ · West Point, VA
- Destination
- Gloucester, VA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 26, 2008
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 226 total · 6 in this make and model · 115 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.81 inHg
- Observed at
- FYJ
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 525 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.