Pilot Debrief

AERO COMMANDER S2R near Valley City, ND — 2016-08-05

Final reportCEN16LA314
Sign in to save
Date
2016-08-05
Location
Valley City, ND, USA
Airport
-
Aircraft
AERO COMMANDER S2R
Registration
N5599X
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that, before departure for the agricultural application flight, the airplane was loaded with 300 gallons of water and spray solution and an undetermined amount of fuel was added to the left fuel tank. The pilot did not visually check the fuel tanks during the preflight inspection. After departure, he flew 5 miles south of the private strip and proceeded to spray a 130-acre field. When the spray solution was depleted, the pilot flew back toward the private strip and noticed that the fuel quantity indicators showed 1/4 full in the right tank and 1/8 full in the left tank. The pilot stated that, about 1.5 miles southeast of the private strip and about 400 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" and experienced a loss of power. He made a forced landing to a field, and the airplane entered a swampy area and then nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident examination of the airplane, no fuel was found in the fuel lines to the engine or in the fuel tanks. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the airplane was not fueled with sufficient fuel to complete the flight and that this, combined with the pilot's failure to check the fuel quantity before departure and ensure that sufficient fuel was onboard for the flight, resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not visually check fuel tanks before departure.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

Related mishaps