Aviat A-1 N49363

Summary

On 29 August 2012 at about 00:00 local time, a Aviat A-1 registered N49363, operated by Airplane Inc, was involved in an accident near Rolla, North Dakota, 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

29 August 2012 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rolla, North Dakota, United States

Coordinates

48.8839, -99.6189

Aircraft

Aviat A-1

Registration

N49363

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Airplane Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Huron → Rolla

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA587

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to secure the right wing's fuel cap before the flight and to properly manage the available fuel supply during the flight, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he self-fueled the airplane with 40 gallons of fuel before the cross-country flight. About 10 miles from his destination airport, the engine stopped producing power. The pilot made a forced landing to a field and flipped over. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the right wing's fuel cap was missing and could not be located. The top of the wing area around the fuel cap and back toward the trailing edge was stained blue, which was consistent with fuel venting overboard. Examination of the left wing fuel tank revealed it was empty of fuel and less than 1 cup of fuel was drained from the right wing fuel tank. No mechanical malfunctions or anomalies were noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.