Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin 54935
Thursday, August 1, 1996 16:10 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he originally planned a direct flight at 11,500 feet, but had to descend to 1,500 feet to avoid weather for 10 to 15 minutes, then he climbed back to 11,500 feet. He said this accounted for his arrival in the vicinity of the destination airport with a low fuel level. When he contacted the control tower at the destination airport, he declared 'minimum fuel' but did not declare an emergency. There were approximately 20 other airplanes on the frequency. The pilot was cleared straight-in to the landing runway; however, the engine lost power, and the airplane was landed about three-quarters of a mile short of the intended runway. The pilot said that in order to avoid other aircraft during the approach, he slowed his airplane by lowering the flaps, which he said prevented him from reaching the runway. During a subsequent postaccident examination of the airplane, no mechanical anomaly was found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations, and his inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. The pilot's failure to declare an emergency fuel condition (inadequate communication) was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/1/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1610
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City FOND DU LAC
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54935
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 8
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 1658 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID FLD
Elevation of weather observation facility 807
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 11000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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 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) 1173
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 1 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:16AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N33UA
NTSB Number CHI96LA267
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 Yakovlev
Aircraft Model YAK-3UA
Aircraft Series Identifier YAK-3UA
Aircraft Serial Number 170-406
Certified Max Gross Weight 5421
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 49
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name THOMAS A. DODSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3008 QUAKER AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City TULSA
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 74114
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 RVS
Departure City TULSA
Departure State OK
Departure Country
Departure Time 1345
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code FLD
Destination City
Destination State
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 --