Grumman AA1 N8866L

Summary

On 30 August 2017 at about 00:20 local time, a Grumman AA1 registered N8866L was involved in an accident near Portland, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 August 2017 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Portland, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Portland Muni (1M5)

Coordinates

36.5847, -86.4775

Aircraft

Grumman AA1

Registration

N8866L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Portland → Portland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17FA299

2 people died.

The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total 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 private pilot and the passenger were making a local personal flight in the airplane. According to witnesses, the airplane was flying "low" in the vicinity of the runway when it collided with trees and impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel selector was in the left tank position; there was no fuel in the left tank or in the fuel lines, and there was less than 1 teaspoon of fuel in the electric boost pump. Therefore, it is likely that the engine lost power because of fuel exhaustion. At an unknown time, the airplane's original 108-horsepower engine had been replaced with a 150-horsepower engine. An updated pilot operating handbook or operating handbook supplement that would have provided fuel consumption figures for the higher horsepower engine was not located. When the accident occurred, the airplane had been flown about 2.23 hours since it had been fully fueled. Based on the estimated fuel burn rate of between 8.8 and 10 gallons per hour provided by the engine manufacturer for the 150-horsepower engine, the airplane likely would have consumed its entire usable fuel capacity of 22 gallons about the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.