Taylorcraft BC12 N95131

Summary

On 1 October 2019 at about 14:55 local time, a Taylorcraft BC12 registered N95131, operated by N95131 Aviation Llc, was involved in an accident near Longs, South Carolina, 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

1 October 2019 at 14:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Longs, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.9297, -78.7356

Aircraft

Taylorcraft BC12

Registration

N95131

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

N95131 Aviation Llc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Forest → North Myrtle Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA20CA001

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, a total loss of engine power, an off-airport landing, and impact with trees. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during preflight preparations, he estimated that the flight time would be about 2 hours 29 minutes with a total fuel burn of 10.1 gallons. The airplane departed with 12 gallons of fuel. About 2 hours 25 minutes into the flight, the engine quit. The pilot navigated toward a nearby field to make an off-airport landing. During the landing, he saw a deep ditch and a house, so he attempted to ground loop the airplane to the left. Both wings impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported as a safety recommendation that adding a fuel stop would have prevented the accident. The Federal Aviation Administrator inspector who examined the airplane reported that the nose tank had evidence of fuel being in it recently (the indicator cork was still wet with fuel), but no fuel remained in the tank. Both the right and left wing tanks were examined, and no fuel remained in either tank. No evidence of a fuel spill was found on the airplane or the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.