- Date
- January 4, 1992, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Holly Springs, MS
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3093Smith/Davis DA-2A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920104000079A
- Case key
- 33049
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-in-command's improper management of fuel. This resulted in the airplane experiencing fuel exhaustion, forced landing, and in flight collision with terrain.
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 departed VFR from resaca, Georgia, between 1000-1015 EST to Holly Springs, Mississippi. No flight plan was filed. Witnesses observed the airplane at 1315 CST about 30 feet AGL above the trees. The airplane was proceeding in the direction of the Holly Springs airport with the engine sputtering. The airplane made a right turn and leveled out. The right wing dropped down 90 degrees and returned back to the level position. The nose of the airplane pitched up, the right wing dropped down, the engine quit, and the airplane disappeared below the tree line and collided with the terrain. Examination of the airframe, flight control system, engine assembly, propeller system, and accessories revealed no evidence of precrash mechanical failure or malfunction. The fuel tank was not ruptured and no fuel was present in the fuel tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3093
- Reported as
- Smith/Davis DA-2A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 78
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gregory G. Kane
- Registered owner
- Gary L. Shirley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 21, 1991 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- 0A5 · Resaca, GA
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 28 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.