Savannah International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rincon, Georgia 31326
Sunday, March 10, 1996 13:50 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

At about the time the flight was cleared to land at the destination airport, the engine began to run roughly. The pilot selected a forced landing site. He said that the mixture was at full rich and carburetor heat had been applied, when the loss of engine power occurred. During the landing, the airplane collided with trees of small diameter. As the airplane rolled out, the nose wheel hit a mound of dirt, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot and passenger exited the airplane without injury. A postaccident investigation revealed that there was no fuel in the airplane fuel tanks and no fuel or fuel residue on the ground at the accident site. During a postaccident engine run, the engine was fully operational. The pilot reported his planned flight time en route to his destination to be three hours and seventeen minutes at 75% power setting. According to the Cessna 152 flight manual, the maximum endurance at 75% power (allowing for unusable fuel) was three hours and five minutes.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Inaccurate fuel consumption calculations by the pilot, and an inadequate supply of fuel, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent nose over of the airplane, during a forced landing on uneven terrain with high vegetation (small trees).

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/10/1996
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1350
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City RINCON
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31326
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SAVANNAH INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SAV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 325
Airport Elevation 51
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1351 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 325
Weather Observation Facility ID SAV
Elevation of weather observation facility 51
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 23000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 0
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 406
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 10 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:53AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N68129
NTSB Number ATL96LA062
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 152U
Aircraft Series Identifier 152U
Aircraft Serial Number 15282136
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 2 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5748
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TULLAHOMA AVIATION INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 966
Aircraft Owner City TULLAHOMA
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37388
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MIKE ULMER
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 612 DEMENT HIGHWAY
Operator City NORMANDY
Operator State TN
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 37360
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 THA
Departure City TULLAHOMA
Departure State TN
Departure Country
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAV
Destination City SAVANNAH
Destination State GA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
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 --