Lea County/Hobbs/ Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hobbs, New Mexico 88240
Saturday, December 31, 2005 11:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he "ran out of fuel" on final approach. The airplane's landing gear became entangled in a power line during the emergency descent and the airplane impacted the ground causing substantial damage to the airplane and serious injury to the pilot and passenger. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the pilot's failure to visually verify the fuel quantity in the fuel tanks prior to departure. Contributing factors include the pilot's inadequate preflight, and the transmission wires.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/31/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Hobbs
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88240
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324118N
Event Location Longitude 1031300W
Event Location Airport LEA COUNTY/HOBBS/
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HOB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3661
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1150 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID HOB
Elevation of weather observation facility 3661
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 12000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.79
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 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19486
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Southwest Region Comm Cent
NTSB Notification Date Dec 31 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Lubbock FAA Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4755D
NTSB Number DEN06CA029
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 182A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 34855
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4531.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name On File
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Denver City
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79323
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name On File
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address On File
Operator City Hobbs
Operator State NM
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 88240
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 HOB
Departure City Hobbs
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 840
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HOB
Destination City Hobbs
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Descent - normal
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2006 9:24AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --