Holscher KR II N395JT

Summary

On 8 January 2006 at about 19:35 local time, a Holscher KR II registered N395JT was involved in an accident near McNeil Island, Washington, United States. One person was 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

8 January 2006 at 19:35

Classification

Accident

Location

McNeil Island, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.2122, -122.6503

Aircraft

Holscher KR II

Registration

N395JT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Olympia → Tacoma Narrows

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA06LA040

Nobody was injured.

Fuel exhaustion while in cruise flight due to inaccurate fuel quantity indications. Factors included the pilot's failure to positively determine the quantity of fuel onboard the aircraft during preflight, and rough, uneven grassy terrain at the location where the pilot found it necessary to execute the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 15 minutes after takeoff, during en route cruise, the aircraft's engine started to run rough and then completely stopped producing power. The pilot then established the aircraft in a descent at best glide speed, and tried to get the engine restarted. When he found that he could not get the engine to restart, the pilot, who at that time was over water, made a 180 degree turn in order to head toward the nearest landing area. He eventually touched down in a rough field, and although the initial touchdown was successful, as the aircraft traveled across the rough field, the nose gear collapsed, and the aircraft nosed over onto its back. A post-accident inspection revealed that the aircraft had run out of useable fuel. In addition, an inspection/test of the fuel system determined that both the electric fuel gauge and the backup fuel level sighting tube were severely miscalibrated, and both indicated the aircraft contained significantly more fuel than was actually present during the test. During the investigation, the pilot said that he had looked in the fuel tank prior to takeoff, but that he did not use a dip stick to confirm how much fuel was actually present. He further stated that based upon what the gauges indicated prior to takeoff, he thought he had enough fuel for more than two hours of flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.