- Date
- November 23, 1994, 18:30 local (Nov 24, 1994, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tunica, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N74232Bellanca 14-13
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 13, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941123039119A
- Case key
- 37699
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 delay in obtaining ATC assistance after becoming lost/disoriented resulting in the total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was failure of the pilot to navigate using the VOR system.
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 stated that he did not perform fuel consumption calculations for the flight because he had flown it several times. While navigating using a GPS unit, the batteries in the unit failed about 10 minutes before arrival. The pilot attempted to locate the airport visually but stated that he delayed obtaining ATC assistance and did not attempt to use the on-board VOR to establish his position. The engine failed due to fuel exhaustion and during the landing roll following the forced landing in a parking lot, the airplane collided with trees.
Factual narrative
On November 23, 1994, about 1830 central standard time, a Bellanca 14-13, N74232, registered to Peter P. Kosloski, crashed in a parking lot of a casino near Tunica, Mississippi, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from the Moore-Murrell Airport, Morristown, Tennessee, about 1430.
The pilot stated that he had flown this trip several times and he did not on this flight perform fuel consumption calculations. He also stated that he was navigating using a global positioning system (GPS) unit and about 10 minutes before arrival at his planned destination airport, the batteries in the GPS unit failed. He continued the flight looking for the airport and stated that he delayed obtaining assistance from air traffic control and did not attempt to use the VOR navigation system in his airplane to determine his position. He located a place to perform a forced landing due to fuel exhaustion and after touchdown during the landing roll, the airplane collided with trees then came to rest. The last Biennial Flight Review was accomplished on February 22, 1992.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74232
- Reported as
- Bellanca 14-13
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1345
- Airframe hours
- 3,252
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4150B3, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kosloski, Peter P.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1993 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- MOR · Morristown, TN
- Destination
- OLV · Olive Branch, MS
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,900 total · 80 in this make and model · 1,700 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 29 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.
Other investigations on N74232 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.