Granger Michael D SONEX N97GR

Summary

On 8 April 2016 at about 15:05 local time, a Granger Michael D SONEX registered N97GR was involved in an accident near Jesup, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 April 2016 at 15:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Jesup, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Wayne County Airport (JES)

Coordinates

31.5522, -81.8703

Aircraft

Granger Michael D SONEX

Registration

N97GR

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vero Beach Muni → Vidalia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA151

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and was planning a cross-country flight to an airport several hours away. Before departing, the pilot flew around the airport traffic pattern with the airplane's previous owner and received a briefing from the previous owner about its operation, fuel consumption, and endurance. Specifically, the previous owner advised him that he typically used 2 hours as a maximum flight leg time; the airplane had a 16-gallon fuel capacity and consumed about 6 gallons of fuel per hour, so a 2-hour flight leg would leave about 4 gallons of fuel remaining for about a 30-minute reserve. The previous owner advised the pilot that they had already used some fuel and that he likely would not have enough fuel to reach his intended destination airport, which was about 2 flight hours away, with an adequate fuel reserve. The pilot stated that he would look for a fuel stop before his intended destination and departed. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain while maneuvering in the vicinity of a runway at an airport just off the direct course between the departure airport and the intended destination airport. The airplane had been airborne for about 2 hours 26 minutes. Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that the fuel system was intact and absent of fuel. Further examination of the airplane's engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot had exhausted the airplane's fuel supply, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing while attempting to reach the runway at the intermediate airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.