Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Old Forge, Pennsylvania 18518
Thursday, January 6, 2000 17:34 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Several witnesses saw the airplane before impact, and heard engine noise oscillating between no power and high power. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the two main fuel tanks were ruptured and charred, but the two auxiliary fuel tanks were not compromised, and appeared absent of fuel. Only drops of fuel were found in the mechanical fuel pumps, fuel lines from the pumps to the mixture controls, and the fuel lines from the mixture controls to the injection manifolds. Examination of the airframe, engines, and propellers, did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. Review of the fueling records revealed that all four tanks were completely fueled about 1 month prior to the accident. The airplane was operated several times after that fueling, and fuel was added to the main fuel tanks on four occasions before the accident. However, fuel was never added to the auxiliary fuel tanks. Although both auxiliary fuel tanks appeared absent of fuel at the accident site, the investigative team was unable to confirm the fuel selector positions prior to impact. The flight instructor had about 50 hours of flight experience in the make and model accident airplane, and the pilot/owner had about 100 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Both pilots' failure to adequately manage the fuel supply, which resulted in fuel starvation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/6/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1734
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City OLD FORGE
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 18518
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 WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AVP
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 5
Airport Elevation 962
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1754 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 185
Weather Observation Facility ID AVP
Elevation of weather observation facility 962
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 560
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 6 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1810
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N70CM
NTSB Number NYC00FA063
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 310N
Aircraft Series Identifier 310N
Aircraft Serial Number 310N-0126
Certified Max Gross Weight 5200
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9
Airframe Hours 6310
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JEROLD WEINER
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City BLAIRSTOWN
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07825
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name TECH AVIATION
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 101 HANGAR ROAD
Operator City AVOCA
Operator State PA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 18641
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code AVP
Departure City WILKES-BARRE
Departure State PA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1733
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 22
Runway Length 7501
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --