Mooney M20C N6753U

Summary

On 18 November 2001 at about 18:10 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N6753U was involved in an accident near High Springs, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 November 2001 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

High Springs, Florida, United States

Coordinates

29.8210, -82.5895

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N6753U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alabaster → Gainesville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA02LA020

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper preflight planning/preparation and failure to ensure sufficient fuel was available to complete the flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, a forced landing, and damage to the aircraft when it collided with a fence during the landing rollout.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the aircraft was in cruise flight at an altitude of 7,000 feet, when all of a sudden the engine ceased operating. He further stated that he then engaged the fuel boost pump, and switched to the left fuel tank, and engine power was restored, but about 10 seconds after power had been restored, the engine ceased operating again. He said he again switched tanks, but the engine failed to operate a second time, and he ended up making a forced landing to a field. The pilot later stated to the NTSB that the reason the engine ceased operating was due to fuel exhaustion. According to the pilot, his wife, a passenger on the flight, had ordered fuel at Shelby County Airport in Alabaster, Alabama, prior to them departing on the flight, but the fuel had not been provided. In addition, an employee at the Shelby County Airport stated that fuel had been ordered for N6753U, but the linesman had forgotten the order, and that no fuel had been placed in the accident aircraft's fuel tanks, as was requested. An FAA Inspector who conducted a postaccident examination of the aircraft, said that during his investigation of the accident aircraft, he found no breaches to fuel system, and that all aircraft fuel tanks were "bone dry."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.