Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Arecibo Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00907
Tuesady, August 5, 2003 11:20 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that while at an altitude of 9,500 feet, in the vicinity of Grand Turk, he noticed the airplane's fuel gauges fluctuating over a 60 gallon range. He said he continued the flight with confidence in his flight planning, and about 40 nautical miles from Isla Grande Airport the right engine sputtered. The pilot said he turned the fuel pumps on, checked the fuel pressure, and noted zero on the fuel quantity indicator, so he selected fuel from the left tank. He said he was also reading a low pressure for the left engine. After climbing to 11,500 feet, about 35 miles from Isla Grande Airport the left engine ceased operating. The right engine then ceased operating a short time after, and the pilot said he feathered both propellers, declared an emergency, and diverted to the Arecibo Airport. He then switched the fuel selector from left tank to right tank, and was able to restart the right engine, and fly toward the shore, and then the right engine ceased operating. About two nautical miles north of the Arecibo Airport, at 6,000 feet and descending, the pilot said he got the left engine operating again. He said he then extended the landing gear, entered a right crosswind, extended full flaps on a right downwind, and landed on runway 08. After off-loading his passengers, the pilot said he was debriefed by an FAA inspector, who issued him a ferry permit to operate the airplane. The pilot then purchased fuel and ferried the airplane to Borinquen Airport where he "topped the tanks" with additional fuel.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s inadequate in-flight decision, and his failure to refuel, which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 8/5/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1120 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Arecibo |
| Event State | PUERTO RICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00907 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 182700N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0664030W |
| Event Location Airport | Arecibo Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ABO |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 23 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1156 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 110 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SJU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15334 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA San Juan, PR. FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 6 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 710 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 28 2004 3:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N371R |
| NTSB Number | MIA03IA157 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 402C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0028 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7210 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 4 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 15303.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Florida Express Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 610 SW 34th Street, Suite 107 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fort Lauderdale |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33315 |
| 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 | AFBA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | FLL |
| Departure City | Fort Lauderdale |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 530 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | STT |
| Destination City | St. Thomas |
| Destination State | VI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 3 2004 4:12PM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |