- Date
- March 19, 2022, 08:36 local (15:36 UTC)
- Place
- Glendale, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N101YYParadise Aircraft USA P1
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220319001019A
- Case key
- 104842
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
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight fuel inspection.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that he had observed the student pilot use a dipstick to determine the fuel quantity. They then departed for a training flight with the belief that they had 10 gallons of fuel. They performed flight maneuvers for about 20 minutes then returned to the airport for pattern work. On the third takeoff, about 300 ft above ground level (agl), the engine experienced a total loss of power. The flight instructor initiated a forced landing to a road where the airplane struck a curb, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. After a debrief with the student, it was discovered by the flight instructor that the student may have inserted the fuel dipstick into the tank at an angle instead of vertically and got a higher level indication of fuel quantity. A postaccident examination of the wing tanks by the recovery agency, revealed less than a half-gallon of fuel remaining in the tanks. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N101YY
- Reported as
- Paradise Aircraft USA P1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 178
- Built
- 2015
- Airframe hours
- 422.3
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Executive Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Executive Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 28, 2022
- Departed
- GEU · Glendale, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- GEU · Glendale Municipal, runway 01, 7,150 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 15, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 556.5 total · 11.4 in this make and model · 383.7 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 14.9 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 43 total · 8.7 in this make and model · 5.6 in the last 90 days · 1.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KGEU
- METAR
- KGEU 191556Z 00000KT 10SM SKC 17/M05 A3005
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 30, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.