Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hammond, Louisiana 70401
Saturday, January 18, 2003 19:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Approximately 3 hours into the cross-country flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine; however, the attempts were unsuccessful. Due to the night conditions, the pilot executed a forced landing to "the lightest colored area of vegatation." During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees and the terrain, and came to rest upright. An FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported that "there was no fuel in the fuel tanks," and no evidence of fuel was found at the accident site.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate inflight planning/decision resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the night light conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/18/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1915
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Hammond
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70401
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 303115N
Event Location Longitude 0902503W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 13697
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operation Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 18 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1950
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 23 2003 8:35AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N20684
NTSB Number FTW03TA087
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Public Use
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model T-34B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number BG-10
Certified Max Gross Weight 2985
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name North Island Navy Flying Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 357012, NAS North Island Bldg 396
Aircraft Owner City San Diego
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92135
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 24J
Departure City Live Oak
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1715
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code BTR
Destination City Baton Rouge
Destination State LA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 6 2003 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record JOHB
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --