- Date
- April 22, 2010, 18:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Hampton, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N654UGrumman G164
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 12, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100422032169A
- Case key
- 75836
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 total loss of engine power during a go-around due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight 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 departed on the 2.5-hour banner-tow flight with 3 hours of fuel on board. After completing the banner tow, he began the return flight to the airport and noticed that the fuel level was "lower than expected." The pilot attempted to conserve fuel by "slowing down and bringing the mixture back." After dropping the banner at the destination airport, the pilot applied full power to conduct a go-around and the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to land in the grass past the end of the runway, but had "too much momentum." The airplane traveled down an embankment, contacted a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures. The horizontal stabilizer and rudder sustained substantial damage. Postaccident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tanks contained a "very little trace" of fuel.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he departed on the 2.5-hour banner tow flight with 3 hours of fuel on board. After completing the banner tow, he began the return flight to the airport and noticed that the fuel level was "lower than expected." The pilot attempted to conserve fuel by "slowing down and bringing the mixture back." After dropping the banner at the destination airport, the pilot applied full power to conduct a go-around, and the engine "lost power." The pilot attempted to land in the grass past the end of the runway, but had "too much momentum." The airplane traveled down an embankment, contacted a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures. The horizontal stabilizer and rudder sustained substantial damage. Postaccident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tanks contained a "very little trace" of fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N654U
- Reported as
- Grumman G164 (UNDESIGNAT)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 390
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-985, 400 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner tow · Part 91
- Operator
- Airsign Inc
- Registered owner
- Airsign Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 19, 2010
- Departed
- 4A7 · Hampton, GA
- Destination
- 4A7 · Hampton, GA
- Airport
- 4A7 · Tara Field, runway 24, 4,503 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 18, 2008
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 1,524 total · 109 in this make and model · 1,498 as pilot in command · 164 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- FFC, 12 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 10, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 652 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.
Other investigations on N654U · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.