Pitts S2 N487J

Summary

On 10 April 2020 at about 22:44 local time, a Pitts S2 registered N487J was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 April 2020 at 22:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.8156, -97.5431

Aircraft

Pitts S2

Registration

N487J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1987

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Forth Worth → Cleburne

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA146

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the fuel level, 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 pilot reported that, during his preflight inspection, he determined that the fuel tank was about 1/2 full (12 gallons). After the airplane departed the airport and reached about 1,300 ft above ground level, the engine lost all power. The pilot turned back to the airport and chose a field for a forced landing. The airplane landed hard, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane then flipped over and came to rest upside down, which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he realized he had misread the fuel gauge and that there were only about 3 gallons of fuel onboard at takeoff. Based on this information, it is likely the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.