Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Damascus, Maryland 20872
Monday, July 24, 1995 17:08 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

At 2500 feet msl, the pilot advised air traffic control, that he had a loss of engine power. He indicated that he was 'running out of fuel.' During the forced landing, the aircraft struck trees short of a field where the pilot was attempting to land. The examination of the wreckage revealed the fuel tanks were empty. The last known refueling of the airplane was on July 20, 1995. At that time 31.9 gallons of fuel were added to the tanks. Between the last refueling and the accident, the airplane flew 5 hours and 36 minutes. This model airplane has a total fuel capacity of 51 gallons, and a range of 5 hours 5 minutes at a 72% power setting. At the same power setting at 2000 feet the fuel consumption rate is 10.6 gallons per hour.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate inflight planning and fuel mismanagement, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/24/1995
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1708
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City DAMASCUS
Event State MARYLAND
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 20872
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 7
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 1650 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID IAD
Elevation of weather observation facility 313
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1345
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 24 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2012
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N20BX
NTSB Number NYC95LA174
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SOCATA
Aircraft Model TB-10
Aircraft Series Identifier TB-10
Aircraft Serial Number 496
Certified Max Gross Weight 2535
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 2 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 72
Airframe Hours 2429
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MT. PLANES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 330 AVIATION WAY
Aircraft Owner City FREDERICK
Aircraft Owner State MD
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 21701
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name FLY BOYS INC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address RT #1 POB 131
Operator City HAMILTON
Operator State VA
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 N80
Departure City OCEAN CITY
Departure State MD
Departure Country
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FDK
Destination City FREDERICK
Destination State MD
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 --