- Date
- March 14, 1988, 21:00 local (Mar 15, 1988, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fernandina Bch, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4781HMooney M-20J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880314033059A
- Case key
- 32010
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 private pilot flew a flight that consumed about 31 gallons of fuel from a 31 gallon tank. The other fuel tank still had 31 gallons of fuel. The engine failed on base leg and the aircraft crashed in a wooded area. The pilot did not switch the fuel selector to the fullest tank as required by the before landing checklist.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4781H
- Reported as
- Mooney M-20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-0872
- Airframe hours
- 1,319
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dale M. Harrold
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 24, 1987 · 157 hours before
- Departed
- GPT · Gulfport, MS
- Airport
- 55J · Fernandina Beach, runway 22, 5,300 × 100 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 706 total · 40 in this make and model · 650 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 300° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JAX, 21 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.