- Date
- April 29, 1994, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Merritt Island, FL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N692KAKeuthan Sabre II / S2A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 18, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940429009669A
- Case key
- 37536
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 inadequate fuel consumption calculations and inadequate in-flight planning when encountering a headwind.
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 and pilot-rated passenger departed on a local flight with full fuel. On return, the pilot encountered stronger than expected winds aloft, and the engine failed due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot executed a forced landing and while rolling to a stop, the airplane collided with a fence and was substantially damaged.
Factual narrative
On April 29, 1994, about 1345 eastern daylight time, N692KA, a homebuilt Sabre II crashed in Merritt Island, Florida, after experiencing an engine failure in flight, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The instructor pilot and the pilot-rated passenger received minor injuries and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight originated at Titusville, Florida, at an unknown time.
The instructor pilot stated to the local law enforcement and the NTSB that they had encountered headwinds and ran out of fuel. The engine failed and they executed a forced landing to a field and hit a chain link fence and a tree.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N692KA
- Reported as
- Keuthan Sabre II / S2A (SABRE II /)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- S2A-K001
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Keuthan, Charles
- Registered owner
- Keuthan, Charles
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- TIT · Titusville, FL
- Airport
- COI · Merritt Island
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,113 total · 50 in this make and model · 964 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLB, 15 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.