Yakovlev YAK-55M N307GS

Summary

On 15 September 2022 at about 11:50 local time, a Yakovlev YAK-55M registered N307GS was involved in an accident near Waldo, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one 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

15 September 2022 at 11:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Waldo, Florida, United States

Coordinates

29.8217, -82.1255

Aircraft

Yakovlev YAK-55M

Registration

N307GS

Category

Airplane

Year built

1992

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Crystal River → Keystone Heights

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA420

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning and preflight inspection of the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion, a total loss of engine power, and the subsequent off-airport landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that prior to departure of the cross-country flight he performed a preflight inspection, which included using a dipstick to check the fuel quantity, though he later reported miscalculating the amount that was on-board. The flight departed with what he thought was 15 gallons of fuel for the intended 30-minute-long flight but when about 5 miles from the intended destination, the fuel pressure gauge decreased to 0 psi and the engine lost power rapidly. He realized he would be unable to land at his intended destination due to the airplane’s altitude and distance from it, so he performed an off-airport forced landing. The airplane touched down in a shallow ditch adjacent to a road and nosed over during the landing roll. He further stated that both fuel quantity gauges indicated near 0 at the moment of the loss of engine power. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the fuselage adjacent to the left main landing gear attach point. During recovery of the airplane no fuel was noted in the wing fuel tanks and postaccident examination revealed no fuel in the fuel service tank. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot exhausted the airplane’s fuel supply, which resulted in the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.