Champion 7GC N4831E

Summary

On 4 September 2016 at about 00:30 local time, a Champion 7GC registered N4831E was involved in an accident near Palmer, Alaska, 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

4 September 2016 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Palmer, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.6198, -148.9800

Aircraft

Champion 7GC

Registration

N4831E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palmer → Palmer

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA486

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and failure to assess the airplane’s fuel quantity before departure, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot of the single-engine airplane, shortly after takeoff and about 500 ft above ground level, the engine lost power. He reported that he attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful. The pilot made a forced landing in a hay field; the airplane landed hard and struck a telephone pole. The pilot reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) that he did not preflight the airplane or check the fuel level before departure and that there should have been fuel in the tanks from the last flight in June 2016, 3 months before the accident. The pilot reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) who received the initial notification that "he ran the airplane out of gas." He further reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The NTSB IIC attempted to contact the pilot on multiple occasions but was informed by the FAA ASI that the pilot was out of the country for the winter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.