Maule MX-7-235 N660HB

Summary

On 3 September 2004 at about 15:45 local time, a Maule MX-7-235 registered N660HB, operated by Stephen D. Rathert, was involved in an accident near Greenville, 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

3 September 2004 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Greenville, Florida, United States

Coordinates

30.6014, -83.6294

Aircraft

Maule MX-7-235

Registration

N660HB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Stephen D. Rathert

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Altamonte Spgs → Moultrie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA04LA126

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion. The pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation to ensure an adequate fuel supply is a contributing factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to reposition the airplane due to Hurricane Francis. He visually checked the fuel tanks before the flight departed and noted the level in both was within 3 inches from the top. The flight departed, and initially climbed to 1,000 feet mean sea level (msl), then later climbed to 1,500 feet msl. When the flight was near Monticello, Florida, the engine sputtered and he maneuvered the airplane towards a nearby lake. He turned base and final for landing on the lake and with 40 degrees of flaps selected, the airplane cleared tall trees near the lake. After clearing the trees he pushed the yoke forward to descend, which caused the airplane to accelerate. He landed on the water but ran out of room and the left wing collided with a submerged cypress tree. He later stated the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion. According to a mechanic who helped recover the airplane, both fuel tanks were drained and a total of approximately 1.5 gallons of fuel were recovered. The mechanic further reported that the total unusable fuel capacity for each fuel tank is 1.5 gallons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.