Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gloucester, Virginia 23061
Saturday, October 3, 2009 15:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was conducting a short flight to a friend's private airport, approximately 12 nautical miles away from his point of departure. He stated that he visually inspected the airplane's fuel level prior to departure and estimated that he had enough fuel to conduct the flight. The airplane was not equipped with a fuel quantity gauge. The pilot stated that while cruising at 1,500 feet, he "ran out of gas." The pilot attempted to land on a road, but the airplane collided with power lines and then struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident scene reported that there was no fuel found in any of the airplane's fuel tanks.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate pre-flight planning .

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/3/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Gloucester
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23061
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 372430N
Event Location Longitude 0763119W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1523 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID FYJ
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.82
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26422
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 Apr 6 2010 11:15AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6626R
NTSB Number ERA10CA003
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Malone Henry O
Aircraft Model Howland
Aircraft Series Identifier H-2A
Aircraft Serial Number 1
Certified Max Gross Weight 725
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Henry O Malone
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Hampton
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Michael Malone
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Crozet
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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 FYJ
Departure City West Point
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Gloucester
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 10 2009 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record muzd
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --