Bellanca 17-30A N194DW

Summary

On 17 January 2016 at about 23:35 local time, a Bellanca 17-30A registered N194DW was involved in an accident near Overbrook, Oklahoma, 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

17 January 2016 at 23:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Overbrook, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Murray State Park (1F1)

Coordinates

34.0789, -97.1092

Aircraft

Bellanca 17-30A

Registration

N194DW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1994

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McKinney → McKinney

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA090

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and his subsequent decision to circle to the north end of the airport due to a light tailwind condition instead of making a downwind landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that he did not visually check the fuel level in the tanks before the personal cross-country flight but that he estimated that there was sufficient fuel on board for a 1-hour flight; the flight was expected to take 30 minutes. The pilot stated that, about 15 to 20 minutes into the flight, the engine started to surge, and it then experienced a total loss of power. The pilot's attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. He then attempted to circle to the north end of a nearby airport so he could land to the south instead of landing to the north with a light tailwind. While on final approach, the airplane contacted trees and terrain about 300 ft north of the runway end. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel system was intact. No fuel was found in the left wing tank, and 1/2 gallon of fuel was found in the right wing tank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.