- Date
- November 18, 2018, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Center, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N667JJabiru J230-SP
- Defining event
- Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20181118024659I
- Case key
- 98659
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 preflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Findings · 4
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 reported that, before departure, he noted that a NOTAM stated that fuel was not available at the airport where he had landed and had planned to refuel but that he felt he had sufficient fuel onboard to continue to another airport to get fuel if necessary. He assessed his fuel quantity and departed the airport, and subsequently, the engine lost power. He pitched the nose down, and the engine regained power, but the pilot realized that the fuel supply was almost exhausted. He attempted to maintain power and altitude but eventually chose to land in a field. He selected a touchdown point and circled to land, but the airplane did not complete the turn before he had to level the wings. The airplane touched down gently but overran the intended landing area, collided with a drainage culvert, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the composite fuselage and windscreen.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that prior to departure, he overlooked a NOTAM which identified that fuel was not available at the airport where he had landed and had planned to refuel. He assessed his fuel quantity and departed the airport, subsequently, the engine lost power. He pitched the nose down, the engine regained power, but the pilot realized that the fuel supply was all but exhausted. He attempted to maintain power and altitude, but eventually selected a field to land. He selected a touchdown point and circled to land, but the airplane did not complete the turn before he had to level the wings. The airplane touched down gently, but the airplane overran the intended landing area, collided with a drainage culvert, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the composite fuselage and the windscreen. The pilot determined that he had misinterpreted the manufacturer's pilot operating handbook's declaration of the airplane's total fuel capacity and the airplane's total useable fuel quantity.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N667J
- Reported as
- Jabiru J230-SP
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 574
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 490
- Engine
- Jabiru 3300A, 120 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2018
- Departed
- 3F3 · Mansfield, LA
- Destination
- F17 · Center, TX
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 30, 2017
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 196 total · 149 in this make and model · 151 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- F17
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 26, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.6 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.
Other investigations on N667J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.