Iar Sa Brasov 823 N823WT

Summary

On 20 September 2004 at about 22:00 local time, a Iar Sa Brasov 823 registered N823WT was involved in an accident near Denair, California, 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

20 September 2004 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Denair, California, United States

Nearest airport

Turlock Municipal Airport (O15)

Coordinates

37.5264, -120.7958

Aircraft

Iar Sa Brasov 823

Registration

N823WT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Turlock

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04CA326

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to verify the fuel quantity on board prior to departure, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power due to an inadequate fuel supply.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane experienced a loss of engine power and collided with terrain during a forced landing in a soft, wet field. Prior to departure, the pilot performed a preflight inspection, at which time he visually verified the airplane's fuel quantities by both physically looking inside the wing tanks, and by checking his fuel computer/totalizer inside the cockpit. The pilot did not use a dipstick or other means to physically quantify the fuel on board. He determined that he had a more than adequate amount of fuel for the 1- to 1 1/2-hour flight. While en route, the pilot compared the "fuel remaining time" with the "time en route remaining" on his gauges numerous times. As he came in the proximity of the airport the engine coughed once and subsequently quit. Despite his efforts, the engine would not restart and the pilot made an emergency landing. While descending, the left wing tip contacted the ground first, and the landing gear touched down on the soft wet ground. The pilot drained both fuel tanks and found about 1 gallon of fuel remaining. The pilot opined that 12 gallons of fuel was siphoned from the airplane prior to departure. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had used a fuel quantity dipstick. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions of failures with the airplane prior to impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.