Blue Grass Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lexington, Kentucky 40510
Tuesady, July 28, 2009 16:02 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed on the outbound leg of a cross country flight with the fuel tanks filled to "1/8-inch below the solid ring of the [fuel filler] neck." He departed on the return leg of the flight without refueling the airplane, and about 6 miles prior to reaching the final destination, the engine lost power. The pilot adjusted the engine controls, which restored engine power briefly, but it again lost power, and he subsequently performed a forced landing. The airplane touched down, struck a fence, and was substantially damaged. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that there was no odor of fuel, no evidence of fuel spillage, and that the airplane contained less than 8 quarts of fuel at the scene. When asked how the accident could have been prevented, the pilot stated "even though indications were that there was sufficient fuel for the return flight, getting fuel at [the departure airport] as a precaution would have prevented the accident."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel manangement.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/28/2009
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1602
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Lexington
Event State KENTUCKY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 40510
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 380207N
Event Location Longitude 0843613W
Event Location Airport Blue Grass Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LEX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 979
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 1654 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID LEX
Elevation of weather observation facility 979
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
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) 26043
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2009 12:55PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6433K
NTSB Number ERA09CA426
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 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15077702
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 7430
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LEXINGTON FLYING CLUB INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 863
Aircraft Owner City LEXINGTON
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 40588-0863
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name LEXINGTON FLYING CLUB INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address PO BOX 863
Operator City LEXINGTON
Operator State KY
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 40588-0863
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OWB
Departure City Owensboro
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1345
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LEX
Destination City Lexington
Destination State KY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 15 2009 2:14PM
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 --