Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cowlesville, New York 14037
Monday, June 15, 2009 15:50 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot-owner of the amateur-built, tandem-seat airplane, prior to departure the partially filled main fuel tank contained an estimated 11 gallons of fuel. The pilot-owner based the quantity on the fuel gauge reading and his 9 years' experience with the airplane, but did not "stick" the tank. Another pilot, seated in the front seat, stated that the pilot-owner also observed "some" fuel in the auxiliary fuel tank, as "indicated by the float." After taking off and climbing the airplane to 3,000 feet, the pilot-owner demonstrated some maneuvers, which the front seat pilot then performed. None of the maneuvers were aerobatic, as fuel would have spilled from the non-sealed auxiliary tank. After maneuvering, the pilot-owner advanced the throttle to return to the airport, but the engine remained at what he thought was "low power" with "engine sound continuous - perhaps just above idle." The pilot-owner established a glide, activated the fuel boost pump, moved the fuel selector to the auxiliary tank, checked both magnetos, and tried various throttle settings before advancing the throttle to full and returning the fuel selector to the main tank. The pilot-owner subsequently performed a forced landing to a corn field, and upon touchdown, the landing gear sheared and the airplane nosed over. The following day, a Federal Aviation Administration examination of the airplane revealed damage to the left wing spar and rudder, and no fuel present in the fuel tanks, fuel lines or gascolator. An unknown quantity of fuel had leaked out of the auxiliary fuel tank. The pilot-owner subsequently noted, "it has become obvious that the engine quit for a lack of fuel," and that he felt the reason the auxiliary fuel did not "re-start" the engine was due to vapor lock. He further stated, "the major error I committed, was trusting the…fuel quantity indicated and not refueling the aircraft prior to this flight."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight fuel inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/15/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1550 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Cowlesville |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 14037 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 424635N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0783257W |
| Event Location Airport | Buffalo Niagara International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BUF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 9 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 728 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1954 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BUF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 728 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 9 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25803 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 27 2009 3:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3LD |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA351 |
| 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 | DREYER |
| Aircraft Model | STARDUSTER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | Too SA-300 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1145 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2140 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 1 |
| 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 | Jul 15 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 11 |
| Airframe Hours | 630 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PROMISE RECORDING INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Tonawanda |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 14150 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PROMISE RECORDING INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Tonawanda |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 14150 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BQR |
| Departure City | Lancaster |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1532 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | BQR |
| Destination City | Lancaster |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 27 2009 3:42PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |