- Date
- April 28, 2007, 10:57 local (17:57 UTC)
- Place
- Show Low, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N751EWGadbois Apex Cross 5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070428007859A
- Case key
- 65723
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 inadequate in-flight fuel consumption calculations and failure to divert to an alternate airport, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane collided with high vegetation during an off-airport forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot had completed the flight earlier in the day from Show Low to Holbrook, and had required about 3 1/2 gallons of fuel. He took a spare tank of fuel with him on the flight, which he used to top off his main tank when he arrived at Holbrook. On the return flight, he observed that fuel was depleting at higher than normal rate, but believed that he could still make it to his destination. He eventually ran out of fuel 1 1/2 miles northeast of Show Low airport. He believed that he had a fuel leak.
Factual narrative
On May 28, 2007, about 1057 mountain standard time, a Gadbois experimental Apex Cross-5, N751EW, experienced a total loss of engine power and collided with scrub trees near Show Low Regional Airport, Show Low, Arizona. The registered owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country flight departed Holbrook Municipal Airport, Holbrook, Arizona, at an unknown time, with a planned destination of Show Low. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot stated to an FAA inspector that the airplane had completed the flight earlier in the day from Show Low to Holbrook, and had required about 3 1/2 gallons of fuel. He took a spare tank of fuel with him on the flight, which he used to top off his main tank when he arrived at Holbrook. On the return flight, he observed that fuel was depleting at higher than normal rate, but believed he could still make it to his destination. He eventually ran out of fuel 1 1/2 miles northeast of Show Low airport. He stated that he believed he had a fuel leak.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N751EW
- Reported as
- Gadbois Apex Cross 5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1001
- Engine
- Compact Ra MZ202, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William Gadbois
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special); Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- P14 · Holbrook, AZ
- Destination
- SOW · Show Low, AZ
- Airport
- SOW · Show Low, runway 21, 3,937 × 60 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
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- SOW
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 N751EW · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.