Somerset County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Somerset, Pennsylvania 15501
Thursday, August 10, 2000 15:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane had been airborne for about 40 minutes when the engine stopped producing power while on final approach. The airplane landed short of the airport, and collided with the airport's perimeter fence. Examination of the airplane's fuel system revealed there was no fuel in the wing fuel tanks, the fuel pump, fuel flow divider or fuel filter, and there was no evidence of fuel spillage or leakage at the accident sight. When the fuel system was drained, about 1-quart of fuel was available in the airplane. Examination of the airplane flight log, pilot's logbook, and fuel history revealed that between August 2, 2000, and August 10, 2000, the airplane had been flown about 4.7 hours. The airplane was last serviced on August 4, 2000, with 7.63 gallons of fuel. No mechanical malfunctions were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Pilot's improper pre-flight planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/10/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City SOMERSET
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 15501
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport SOMERSET COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2G9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2200
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1448 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID JST
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 12
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
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) 3837
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11204
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 10 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2001 1:05PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6101T
NTSB Number IAD00LA072
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 Aero Commander
Aircraft Model 114-B
Aircraft Series Identifier 114-B
Aircraft Serial Number 14631
Certified Max Gross Weight 3260
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 29 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 666
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JON AIR, INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City ROCKWOOD
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 15557
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JOHN W. BENEFORD
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City ROCKWOOD
Operator State PA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 15557
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 2G9
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1410
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 2G9
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 23 2001 4:08AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 4697
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --