Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ashland, Nebraska 68003
Wednesday, December 9, 1998 16:17 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot conducted a forced landing in a field where the airplane sustained substantial damage. The fuel tanks contained only unusable fuel. There was no indication of fuel leaks from the fuel tanks or fuel tank caps. The pilot told initial responders that the engines quit due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's not refueling the airplane to avoid fuel exhaustion, and his inadequate preflight planning. A factor was fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/9/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1617
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City ASHLAND
Event State NEBRASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 68003
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 12
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 1554 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID LNK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1218
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1418
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 9 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1827
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3027D
NTSB Number CHI99LA050
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 310
Aircraft Series Identifier 310
Aircraft Serial Number 35227
Certified Max Gross Weight 4600
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 5
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 3380
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT J. THOMAS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 42236 N 7TH ST
Aircraft Owner City PHOENIX
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85027
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 ABQ
Departure City ALBUQUERQUE
Departure State NM
Departure Country
Departure Time 1240
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OMA
Destination City OMAHA
Destination State NE
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
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 --