- Date
- June 4, 1999, 16:13 local (23:13 UTC)
- Place
- San Martin, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N44549Culver V
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 22, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990604006449A
- Case key
- 46498
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
Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and failure to refuel the aircraft during an en route stop.
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 pilot noticed obscured ridges en route to his destination and said he spent too much time looking for a clear area to cross before he decided to divert to another airport. The pilot realized he would not have enough fuel to reach the diversion airport, so he maneuvered for a forced landing 4 miles short of the runway when he ran out of fuel. The aircraft encountered soft soil and ground obstructions during the landing roll. The pilot did not refuel the aircraft prior to departure from his last stop.
Factual narrative
On June 4, 1999, at 1613 hours Pacific daylight time, a Culver V, N44549, force landed in a vacant field north of South County Airport, San Martin, California, and encountered soft soil and ground obstructions. The aircraft, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Watsonville, California, at 0940, and made an en route stop at Auburn, California. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the San Jose, California, Flight Standards District Office, interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated to the inspector that he ran out of fuel while nearing his destination. He reported that he refueled in Watsonville and departed for the South County Airport with a planned stop in Auburn. The pilot did not refuel his aircraft in Auburn. According to the pilot, he was airborne for 5 hours after departing Watsonville when the engine lost power. The pilot said that when he realized he would not have enough fuel to make it to his destination, he maneuvered to make an off field landing in a vacant field.
In a written statement from the pilot, he stated that he departed Watsonville airport with the intent to land at the Quincy airport. As he approached a summit just west of Quincy, he found the ridges to be obscured. He proceeded to land in Auburn, for a short stop, and then departed for a flight back to Watsonville. He noted a slight headwind, and as he crossed the Santa Clara Valley, he found the ridges north of Watsonville to be obscured. He stated, "I spent to much time looking for a way to cross." The pilot altered his course for South County Airport, but ran out of gas 4 miles short of the airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44549
- Reported as
- Culver V
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- V42
- Airframe hours
- 690
- Engine
- Continental C-85-FHJ, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Donald L. Thomas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 14, 1999 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- AUN · Auburn, CA
- Destination
- WVI · Watsonville, CA
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,415 total · 70 in this make and model · 1,341 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJC, 25 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.