Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73099
Tuesady, December 2, 2003 14:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 1,800-hour pilot stated that he turned final to Runway 17 and was at an altitude of 2,500 MSL, when the left engine lost power. Approximately ten seconds later, the right engine lost power. The pilot landed the airplane in a field with the landing gear up, approximately two miles north of his destination. The main fuel tanks were visually inspected and found to be one-third to one-half full of fuel. The auxiliary tanks were found to be empty. The fuel selector valves were in the auxiliary position for both engines. The pilot reported that he was distracted by weather and communications with Oklahoma City Approach Control, and forgot to switch tanks.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel by which he failed to position the fuel selector on the appropriate fuel tanks resulting in fuel starvation. A contributing factor was the pilot's diverted attention.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/2/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Oklahoma City
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73099
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 353607N
Event Location Longitude 0974222W
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 1193
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 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 21
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 26
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) 697
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15512
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO OKC
NTSB Notification Date Dec 3 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1448
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Oklahoma City

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N815M
NTSB Number FTW04LA031
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 310-H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 310H0042
Certified Max Gross Weight 5100
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6355
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Michael Lee Spiller
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3019 Winding Creek Lane NE
Aircraft Owner City Piedmont
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73078
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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 MVN
Departure City Mount Vernon
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1015
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HSD
Destination City Oklahoma City
Destination State OK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2004 5:44PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --