Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bunnell, Florida 32110
Wednesday, April 7, 1999 15:33 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While approaching the destination airport, the engine lost power. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and a forced landing was made in a clear area. The pilot stated to a Sheriff's Deputy after the accident that he had underestimated the amount of fuel in the aircraft and the engine quit due to fuel exhaustion. Post crash examination of the aircraft and crash site by a Sheriff's Deputy and an FAA Inspector showed the aircraft contained no usable fuel and there was no evidence of fuel leakage from the aircraft after the accident. An onboard fuel flow/fuel pressure instrument showed the aircraft had one gallon of fuel remaining at the time of the accident and the low fuel warning was illuminated. Lycoming Engines performance charts show the engine consumes 13.9 gallons per hour at 2,400 rpm, 65% power, and leaned for best economy. The flight had departed with 34 gallons of fuel and the engine quit after 2 hours and 30 minutes of flight. The fuel consumption estimation for this leg was about 13.6 gallons per hour.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/7/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1533
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City BUNNELL
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32110
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID DAB
Elevation of weather observation facility 35
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 453
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 7 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1625
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N600SH
NTSB Number MIA99LA118
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Steve Hill
Aircraft Model STAUDACHER S600
Aircraft Series Identifier STAUDACHER
Aircraft Serial Number H002
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 198
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name STEPHEN F. HILL
Aircraft Owner Street Address 100 LIBERTY SQUARE
Aircraft Owner City LIBERTY
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 42539
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code DNN
Departure City DALTON
Departure State GA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code X47
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --