| Date: | Wednesday 23 July 2003 |
| Time: | 19:40 LT |
| Type: | Smith DSA-1 Miniplane |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N721SC |
| MSN: | 1969 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 433 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-235-C1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | WINNEMUCCA, Nevada -
United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | OWYHEE, NV |
| Destination airport: | Winnemucca Airport, NV (WMC/KWMC) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:The private pilot reported he was flying his experimental homebuilt airplane on a multi-leg cross country flight. He stated he became disoriented, and eventually ran out of fuel. During the subsequent night emergency landing, he placed the airplane in a steep, nose down attitude, and pulled up too late, colliding with terrain and sustaining structural damage to the airplane.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power during cruise flight, and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. A factor associated with the accident is the night light conditions.
Accident investigation:
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| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Report number: | LAX03LA242 |
| Status: | Investigation completed |
| Duration: | 1 year and 5 months |
| Download report: | Final report
|
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Sources:
NTSB LAX03LA242
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
| 13-Oct-2022 08:57 |
ASN Update Bot |
Added |
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