Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Windsor, California 95492
Saturday, January 29, 2000 12:57 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While inbound for landing at the destination airport, the pilot reported a loss of engine power. The pilot stated to a deputy that he had run out of fuel. A responding pilot from the sheriff's department visually verified that there was no evidence of fuel in the fuel tanks. Approximately 1 gallon of fuel was drained from the airplane during the recovery. An engine inspection and run-up were conducted. No anomalies were noted during the inspection or run-up. In an interview with the FAA, the pilot indicated that he visually checked the fuel tanks during preflight, and that there was fuel in the tanks, but they were not full. It was also noted that the pilot was unable to perform a weight and balance computation for the flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning in that he did not perform a fuel calculation, and his failure to verify the fuel quantity on board the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent collision with the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/29/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1257
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City WINDSOR
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95492
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 1
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 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1303 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID STS
Elevation of weather observation facility 125
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 961
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 29 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1340
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2001 2:27PM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8281F
NTSB Number LAX00LA081
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 150F
Aircraft Series Identifier 150F
Aircraft Serial Number 15064381
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 3 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 5945
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RED FOX 3 FLYING GROUP
Aircraft Owner Street Address 872 BUCKINGHAM DR.
Aircraft Owner City WINDSOR
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95492
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 WLW
Departure City WILLOWS
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code STS
Destination City SANTA ROSA
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 2 2001 4:08AM
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 --