Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Georgetown Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Georgetown, Texas 78626
Monday, May 28, 2001 17:25 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the day VFR cross-country flight, the single-engine airplane landed short of the runway following a total loss of engine power. The pilot reported that he had previously flown the reverse course without stopping for fuel en route. Further, the pilot stated that he knew the inaccuracy of the fuel gauges which read empty when 1/2 full. The airplane was refueled at the departure airport; however, there were no en route refueling stops on the day of the accident. The airplane was approximately 14 nautical miles from the destination airport when the pilot informed the controller that the airplane was "out of fuel." The pilot received radar vectors to the nearest airport. During the final approach, the airplane cleared high lines; however, the airplane "seemed to hit a downdraft over a grove of trees," and the nose landing gear struck the trees. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the ground. The wind was reported from 150 degrees at 16 knots with gust to 20 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to refuel the aircraft resulting in fuel exhaustion during cruise flight. A contributing factor was the gusty wind encountered during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/28/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1725 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Georgetown |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78626 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 304044N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0974046W |
| Event Location Airport | Georgetown Municipal |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | GTU |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 110 |
| Airport Elevation | 790 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1741 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AUS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 541 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 16 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.76 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 10682 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 28 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1840 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 9 2001 3:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | San Antonio, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5447J |
| NTSB Number | FTW01LA131 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1727399 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 25 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 48 |
| Airframe Hours | 4911 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Richard Blake |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4309 General Aviation Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Austin |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78719 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | HUT |
| Departure City | Hutchinson |
| Departure State | KS |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1250 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AUS |
| Destination City | Austin |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 21 2001 2:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MORJU |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29 |
| Runway Length | 4100 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |