ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 186288
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| Date: | Friday 8 April 2016 |
| Time: | 11:05 |
| Type: |  Sonex Aircraft Sonex |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N97GR |
| MSN: | 0611 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 346 hours |
| Engine model: | Jabiru 3300A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Jesup-Wayne County Airport (KJES), Jesup, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Vero Beach Muni, FL (KVRB) |
| Vidalia, GA (KVDI) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and was planning a cross-country flight to an airport several hours away. Before departing, the pilot flew around the airport traffic pattern with the airplane’s previous owner and received a briefing from the previous owner about its operation, fuel consumption, and endurance. Specifically, the previous owner advised him that he typically used 2 hours as a maximum flight leg time; the airplane had a 16-gallon fuel capacity and consumed about 6 gallons of fuel per hour, so a 2-hour flight leg would leave about 4 gallons of fuel remaining for about a 30-minute reserve. The previous owner advised the pilot that they had already used some fuel and that he likely would not have enough fuel to reach his intended destination airport, which was about 2 flight hours away, with an adequate fuel reserve. The pilot stated that he would look for a fuel stop before his intended destination and departed. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain while maneuvering in the vicinity of a runway at an airport just off the direct course between the departure airport and the intended destination airport. The airplane had been airborne for about 2 hours 26 minutes. Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that the fuel system was intact and absent of fuel. Further examination of the airplane's engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot had exhausted the airplane's fuel supply, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing while attempting to reach the runway at the intermediate airport.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N97GR
Location
Images:
Photo: FAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Apr-2016 21:43 | Geno | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 19-Apr-2020 07:02 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 19-Apr-2020 15:44 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, Accident report, ] |
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