Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Paragonah, Utah 84760
Friday, May 7, 2004 12:30 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated he visually inspected the fuel tanks and determined the right tank was just over 1/2 full, and the left tank was approximately 1/4 full, for an estimated total of 16 gallons. The pilot wrote, "A visual check confirmed fuel, but it is difficult to judge [the] amount visually." At a fuel consumption rate of 10 gallons per hour, the pilot estimated he had at least 1.5 hours endurance, which would allow him to complete the flight. The pilot flew for 25 minutes on the right tank, flew 25 minutes on the left tank, then switched back to the right tank. Shortly thereafter, the right fuel gauge registered empty. The pilot switched back to the left tank and "about 12 miles [from his destination] the tank went dry." The engine lost power shortly thereafter, and he made a forced landing in a field. During the landing, the left wing tip struck a berm and was sheared off. The left fuel tank was breached, the firewall was buckled, and the engine separated from the firewall. The pilot said that he "should have had enough fuel for the trip but unfortunately that proved not to be the case."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight and in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the loss of engine power. The berm and the pilot not stopping to refuel the airplane were contributing factors.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/7/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Paragonah |
| Event State | UTAH |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 84760 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 35 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CDC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5622 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.2 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 7634 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16260 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 7 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1351 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Salt Lake City, Utah |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N29KB |
| NTSB Number | DEN04LA069 |
| 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 | Branham |
| Aircraft Model | Vans RV-6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 001 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 27 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 354 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Kory A. Branham |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Alpine |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84004 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Kory A. Branham |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | On File |
| Operator City | Alpine |
| Operator State | UT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 84004 |
| 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 | PVU |
| Departure City | Provo |
| Departure State | UT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 1L9 |
| Destination City | Parowan |
| Destination State | UT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 10 2004 12:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| 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 | -- |