- Date
- August 15, 2015, 20:00 local (Aug 16, 2015, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wolcottville, IN
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N683DBBurton Dennis W Sonex
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report November 5, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Grand Rapids FSDO (FAA)
- FAA report
- 20150815013839A
- Case key
- 91833
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 planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, a forced off-airport landing, and nose over.
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
During a local flight, the pilot reported that his engine quit while maneuvering about 1,200 above ground level. The pilot stated that his only option was to land in a soy bean field, and he attempted to fly as slow as possible prior to touchdown. After rolling about 50 feet in the field the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that for the majority of the 30 minute flight, he was flying with the fuel mixture full rich. He stated that he did not depart with full fuel, and must have been burning fuel at a higher rate than he originally anticipated. According to a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector, during a postaccident examination the airplane's fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was found at the tank sumps. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The vertical stabilizer and left wing sustained substantial damage.
Factual narrative
During a local flight, the pilot reported that his engine quit while maneuvering about 1,200 above ground level. The pilot stated that his only option was to land in a soy bean field, and he attempted to fly as slow as possible prior to touchdown. After rolling about 50 feet in the field the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported that for the majority of the 30 minute flight, he was flying with the fuel mixture full rich. He stated that he did not depart with full fuel, and must have been burning fuel at a higher rate than he originally anticipated. According to a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector, during a postaccident examination the airplane's fuel tanks were empty and no fuel was found at the tank sumps. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The vertical stabilizer and left wing sustained substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N683DB
- Reported as
- Burton Dennis W Sonex (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0691
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 431
- Engine
- Jabiru 3300A, 120 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 2015
- Departed
- C62 · Kendallville, IN
- Destination
- C62 · Kendallville, IN
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS
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
- 64
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 19, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 900 total · 30 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 220° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- KANQ, 12 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 7, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 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.