- Date
- November 12, 2010, 16:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Livingston, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N46014Aeronca O58B
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20101112051799A
- Case key
- 77791
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 improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 1
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 the airplane's 15-gallon fuel tank was about half-full when he departed on a local flight. At the conclusion of the one-hour flight, while on approach to the airport, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power. He set up for a forced landing to a southerly-oriented runway, and about 200 feet above the ground, the engine re-started and the aircraft climbed. The engine ran for several seconds and stopped again. He then attempted to circle and land on the northerly-oriented runway. As he approached the runway, he pulled back on the control yoke to bleed off some airspeed, but there was no elevator control effectiveness as the airplane was close to a stall. The airplane impacted the ground, the landing gear collapsed, and the engine firewall sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tank was void of fuel, and no fuel drained from the wing fuel sump when tested. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that the airplane's 15-gallon fuel tank was about half-full when he departed on a local flight. At the conclusion of the one-hour flight, while on approach to the airport, the airplane’s engine stopped producing power. The pilot set up for a forced landing to a southerly-oriented runway, and about 200 feet above the ground, the engine started and the aircraft climbed. The engine ran for several seconds and stopped again. The pilot then attempted to circle and land on the northerly-oriented runway. As he approached the runway, the pilot pulled back on the stick but there was no elevator control effectiveness. The airplane impacted the ground, the landing gear collapsed, and the engine firewall sustained substantial damage. Post accident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tank was void of fuel, and no fuel drained from the wing fuel sump when tested. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46014
- Reported as
- Aeronca O58B (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 058B12153
- Airframe hours
- 2,187
- Engine
- Continental A75-8F, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Eric Paul Beebe
- Registered owner
- Eric Paul Beebe
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2010
- Departed
- NY1 · Ghent, NY
- Destination
- 1A1 · Livingston, NY
- Airport
- 1A1 · Green Acres Airport, runway 03, 2,275 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 62
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 25, 2010
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 382 total · 36 in this make and model · 382 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- PSF, 26 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 2, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB 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.