- Date
- October 12, 1990, 15:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Monongahela, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N690XSwearingen SA-26AT
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901012045069A
- Case key
- 36823
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 inadequate monitoring of the fuel burn which resulted in total fuel exhaustion. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the pilot's limited experience in the make and model of airplane, an erroneous fuel quantity indication, and the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane due to pressure from the owner to not add fuel.
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 flight was from Monongahela to pittsburgh to teterboro,NJ, then return to pittsburgh and back to Monongahela. The flight departed Monongahela with 100 gals of fuel; 160 gals were added at pittsburgh; and 80 gals were added at teterboro. The pilot wanted to add more fuel at teterboro but the owner did not due to the higher cost of fuel and the fuel gage indications. During the return trip no fuel was added at pittsburgh because the pilot did not have a credit card provided by the owner or money to buy fuel. The flight experienced a two-engine power loss due to fuel exhaustion while approaching the Monongahela airport. Subsequent examination of the cockpit fuel gages showed a total of 125 gals in the left tank and 90 gals in the right tank; the reading remained the same with or without power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N690X
- Reported as
- Swearingen SA-26AT
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T26-141
- Engine
- Garrett TPE-331-1-151, 665 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Zagari & Associates
- Departed
- PIT · Pittsburgh, PA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- G08 · Rostraver
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
- 50
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,525 total · 21 in this make and model · 7,244 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.