Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Halls Crossing, Utah 84533
Friday, July 12, 1996 20:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that about 1,000 feet above ground level and with the airport in sight, the engine suddenly quit. He was unable to restart the engine, and a forced landing was made in an open area. The airplane belly landed, bounced, and became airborne, then it rolled to the left and touched down again inverted. The pilot stated that after the accident, there was no smell of fuel or fuel spillage. He stated that 11 gallons of fuel had been added at the last refueling to bring the total fuel capacity to 22 gallons for this leg of the flight. There had been a conflicting indication of quantity between the fuel totalizer and the cockpit fuel gauge. The pilot stated that he felt that the totalizer was correct; however, there were indications that he did not verify this either visually or with a dip stick.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight of the airplane, and subsequent fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel, which resulted in loss of engine power and an emergency landing. Uneven terrain in the emergency landing area was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2015
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City HALLS CROSSING
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84533
Event Date Year 1996
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 572
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1120
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N248B
NTSB Number SEA96LA154
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 Colonial
Aircraft Model C-1
Aircraft Series Identifier C-1
Aircraft Serial Number 8
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 Jul 8 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 135
Airframe Hours 2250
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CYRUS A. WOOD-THOMAS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 421 N. HUMPHRIES ST.
Aircraft Owner City FLAGSTAFF
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 86001
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 GUP
Departure City GALLUP
Departure State NM
Departure Country
Departure Time 1835
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code U96
Destination City
Destination State UT
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 --