Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecna P2004 BRAVO N141AG

Summary

On 18 March 2011 at about 18:20 local time, a Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecna P2004 BRAVO registered N141AG, operated by Step Up Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Austin, Texas, 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 March 2011 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Austin, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Austin-Bergstrom IAP (AUS)

Coordinates

30.2250, -97.6889

Aircraft

Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecna P2004 BRAVO

Registration

N141AG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Step Up Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Llano → Austin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA237

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to the return leg of a cross-country flight, the pilot checked the airplane's fuel level by observing the fuel gauges. The pilot did not measure the actual fuel level; the Pilot’s Operating Handbook contains a warning that “pilots should verify actual fuel quantity visually in tanks before takeoff.” The airplane lost engine power while approaching the destination, and the pilot performed a forced landing; the airplane impacted a house, trees, and terrain. According to the pilot's calculations, the airplane “should have burned 4 gallons leaving 6 gallons.” However, the amount of fuel recovered postaccident was 2 gallons or less; the fuel tanks contain 0.25 gallons of unusable fuel. Although the pilot said that fuel was leaking after the accident, no fuel leaks were observed by or reported to first responders. There was some fuel found in one carburetor bowl, the other carburetor bowl did not have any fuel, and the gascolator did not have any fuel. Therefore, it is likely that the engine was not receiving adequate fuel to maintain power; however the investigation could not determine the reason for the starvation. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were detected.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.