Aero Commander S2R N5599X

Summary

On 5 August 2016 at about 19:50 local time, a Aero Commander S2R registered N5599X, operated by Lakeview Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Valley City, North Dakota, 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

5 August 2016 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Valley City, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Private Strip (-)

Coordinates

46.8919, -98.1936

Aircraft

Aero Commander S2R

Registration

N5599X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Lakeview Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sanborn → Sanborn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA314

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, 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 commercial pilot reported that, before departure for the agricultural application flight, the airplane was loaded with 300 gallons of water and spray solution and an undetermined amount of fuel was added to the left fuel tank. The pilot did not visually check the fuel tanks during the preflight inspection. After departure, he flew 5 miles south of the private strip and proceeded to spray a 130-acre field. When the spray solution was depleted, the pilot flew back toward the private strip and noticed that the fuel quantity indicators showed 1/4 full in the right tank and 1/8 full in the left tank. The pilot stated that, about 1.5 miles southeast of the private strip and about 400 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" and experienced a loss of power. He made a forced landing to a field, and the airplane entered a swampy area and then nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident examination of the airplane, no fuel was found in the fuel lines to the engine or in the fuel tanks. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the airplane was not fueled with sufficient fuel to complete the flight and that this, combined with the pilot's failure to check the fuel quantity before departure and ensure that sufficient fuel was onboard for the flight, resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.