Stearman N2S 3 N2158P

Summary

On 22 July 2020 at about 23:00 local time, a Stearman N2S 3 registered N2158P was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Arkansas, 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

22 July 2020 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.8561, -92.0811

Aircraft

Stearman N2S 3

Registration

N2158P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1942

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jacksonville → Jacksonville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA303

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to adequately monitor his fuel quantity during flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the accident flight was the second flight of the day towing banners in his bi-plane. On the return leg, the engine lost all power and the pilot landed along a pipeline and impacted a post, which resulted in substantial damage to the upper and lower right wing. The pilot informed a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that he may have run out of gas. The inspector drained about 1 quart of fuel from the gascolator and "less than a tablespoon" from the sump drains. There was no evidence of fuel in the fuel tanks. The tanks were not breached and the fuel lines appeared to be intact with no evidence of fuel leaks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.